Baltimore lead paint victim struggles for justice

By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun 8:09 p.m. EDT, May 16, 2011

Justice has eluded Ronnell Doughty, perhaps even failed him.

Hospitalized as a toddler with serious lead poisoning, he’s never learned to read well, dropped out of school and has a hard time controlling his temper — tragic but all-too-common outcomes of this urban health scourge.

But Doughty, now 21, has been repeatedly denied a shot at compensation for the lasting injury done him two decades ago. His family says in court papers that two lawyers mishandled the lawsuit on his behalf against the landlords of the East Baltimore rowhouse where he allegedly ingested toxic lead from flaking paint. Both lawyers were subsequently disbarred for other reasons, according to court records.

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