Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE Flint residents talk about health concerns for quality of drinking water and high rates since moving from buying water from Detroit to using treated water from the Flint River after boil advisories and violation of Safe Drinking Water Act. These guys (his children) don't have a voice of their own so I have to be their voice. Waid, along with his lawyers, announced Monday that a federal lawsuit has been filed against several State of Michigan and Flint officials, including Gov. It wasn't until the family moved in with a relative who wasn't on Flint's water system that Sophia's blood began returning to normal, the first evidence the family had that the service line under the street -- and not their home -- was the culprit. Waid said his dream was that his children would have "bright futures," and now they are at risk of cognitive delays and physical problems for years to come. Now, with Sophia facing an uncertain future, her parents are filing a lawsuit against the city and a raft of government officials they say lied to Flint's residents and put children like her in harm's way. "This child is but one of literally thousands of Flint residents who've been affected. Waid said he was relieved to know his youngest child, 2-month-old Luke Waid Jr., does not suffer from lead poisoning. His wife, Michelle Rodriguez, stopped drinking the tap water in August 2014, which was when they found out Sophia had been poisoned. The family's lawyers, Brian McKeen of Detroit and two New York-based lawyers with experience in lead cases, say damage was already done to young Sophia, though it could be years before they know how much.
– A Flint, Michigan, family is suing the city and several government officials after their young daughter tested positive for lead poisoning, NBC News reports. The family of Sophia Rodriguez Waid, who's now 2, say they moved out and spent scarce funds on remodeling their house to avoid contaminated water—but Sophia's lead level only rose. "We changed our whole life. We remodeled out home and lived in hotels and with family for months," says her dad, Luke Waid. "They threatened us with child protective services if (her lead level) didn't go down." But they say her level rose to 14 mg/dl (well past the danger line of 5) until they moved in with the sister of Luke's fiancee and drank from the sister's well. Sophia's lead level then declined, they say. But lead levels under 6 in children are known to curb development, harm organs, and cause behavioral and learning problems, the Detroit Free Press reports. "Even when these officials knew of a lead problem, they failed to act, thus resulting in an epidemic of lead poisoning," says Brian McKeen, one of the family's lawyers. "This child is but one of literally thousands of Flint residents who've been affected. ... They, like any parent have suffered tremendous anguish knowing that their child has been poisoned and faces an uncertain medical and developmental future." This is the first such lawsuit filed amid the city's ongoing water crisis, the lawyers say. Local officials and a lawyer representing Michigan haven't responded to the suit, which does not specify damages. (Even Flint-area dogs are turning up toxic.)