What's my liability for previous tenants' potential lead exposure

[Suzanne A.]

Hi everyone.  I'm currently under contract for a house in Baltimore County.  It was built in 1955.  The current owner rented the house after she moved out but did NOT get it tested for lead and did NOT register the house with the county, both of which are against the law.  She had a family living there (presumably with kids but haven't gotten a straight answer on that yet).

My agent brought up the point that theoretically, if any of the kids that lived there have problems with lead, they can come after the property owner, which would be me.  It would be easy to prove that I was not the property owner at the time of the lead poisoning, but would I still be liable for any part of this?  I know I need to talk to an attorney but I wanted to be as educated as I can be before I do that.

Anyone have any insights to this?

[Suzanne A.]

I spoke to the lawyer today and he said the chance would be small, but he can't tell me I couldn't be sued.  I could have the seller sign an indemnity agreement, or find the tenants and get them to sign a waiver or get them tested.  The Maryland Dep't of the Environment won't tell me anything.  Basically I can't get a straight answer from anyone and I keep getting bounced around.