My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: Illinois
This topic involves personal injury from lead exposure to a “food-grade” product sold by an online company, as well as damage to property from the lead.
I am a recreational home beer brewer in the state of Illinois, and I bought a thermohydrometer from an online brewing supplies company based in Minnesota. They sold this thermohydrometer for the explicit purpose of home beer and wine brewing.
It looks like this: http://static.zoovy.com/img/homebrew...hydrometer.jpg
As you can see, it is a hollow glass tube with an internal thermometer, and weighed down with metal shot on the bottom so it will float in liquid.
In January 2013, I was making a batch of beer, which involves boiling barley in water for about 90 minutes. Near the first 5 minutes, I immersed the thermohydrometer in the water, to take a temperature reading. The bottom of the glass broke, releasing all of the metal shot into the beverage.
I did not think anything was wrong, and boiled for 90 minutes like usual. Afterward, I drank about 8-12 oz. of the liquid, to see how it turned out. I additionally dumped the solution to a ~$1000 metal fermentor.
At this point, I realized the glass had broken, and realized I may have been exposed to lead. I rushed to an Urgent Care clinic and saw a physician. From all of the stress, my BP was higher than 140. They took a blood lead level test, which later showed moderately elevated blood lead levels that were above average, but not yet at the level that would necessitate immediate treatment.
I contacted the online company, who stated that the device did not contain lead. They told me they imported it from an international manufacturer, and emailed me a digitial copy of a signed and stamped letter guaranteeing the device did not contain lead.
I then tested the device again with an additional chemical test from 3M, which immediately gave a positive result indicating lead.
At this point, I am first worried about the elevated lead level in my blood. According to scientific research studies, the precise level I am at is associated with increase death, and increased risk of tremor. The latter is a problem, because I am in training to be a surgeon, and my hands now shake.
Additionally, I am worried that the lead may have contaminated my property, including the ~$1000 fermentor that was almost brand new.
Can I sue these guys for either personal injury, falsely stating their product has no lead, property to damage (in small claims), or pain and suffering (as evidenced by my high BP in urgent care)?
I am fairly confident I will suffer health effects due to their negligence, but besides the tremor, these will most likely not manifest for decades, and are only backed up by research. If I were to send the broken device to an analytical lab, I am very confident they will document excess lead, based off my two chemical at-home tests, and visual inspection.

