Lead paint industry wins Wis. trial

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The lead paint industry has tasted victory after a Milwaukee Circuit Court jury ruled in its favor in the first of more than 30 personal injury lawsuits.

The suits, all filed in Wisconsin, allege that manufacturers are to blame for problems suffered by children exposed to lead paint, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday.

A Milwaukee County Circuit Court jury said in a decision released Monday that plaintiff Steven Thomas did ingest lead, but added that his brain was not damaged as a result of the lead, and that the therapy used at a hospital to rid his system of lead did not harm him.

The City of Milwaukee also lost a lawsuit in June against the nation's largest manufacturer of lead pigment used in paint. The city sought reimbursement for the $52.6 million it has spent on a cleanup effort, but lost the case.