Paraquat & Parkinson’s Disease Lawsuit
If you were exposed to paraquat, you also suffered exposure to toxic chemicals like dichloride, which put you at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. If this popular herbicide caused you to develop Parkinson’s disease, our lawyers can file a paraquat lawsuit. You could win a settlement or court award that would cover your medical bills, recover any lost income, and compensate you for a diminished quality of life, as well as other damages.
Our paraquat Parkinson’s disease attorneys will fight to bring you justice and hold accountable the paraquat manufacturers who failed to warn the public about the health risks of their product. Only when and if we win your case would we charge you any legal fees, and we will evaluate your case free of charge.
This page has been written and edited by a team of experienced legal writers . This page was approved by Managing Partner, Michael Saile who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
This page has been written and edited by a team of experienced legal writers . This page was approved by Managing Partner, Michael Saile who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
- Last Modified:
- September 28, 2024
Recovering potentially much more than your Parkinson’s medical costs
In 2017, the Unified Parkinson’s Advocacy Council outlined in a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) multiple facts that link paraquat to Parkinson’s disease. This included the fact that chronic exposure to paraquat heightens the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by anywhere from 200 to 600 percent.
The council further informed the EPA of the economic costs of the illness, noting that a person with Parkinson’s disease spends $26,400 annually on individual care.
That being said, if you were to seek compensation in a paraquat lawsuit, the potential for recoverable damages exceeds the amount you would spend on medical bills.
Types of recoverable damages in a paraquat lawsuit
Some of the types of damages you could recover include:
- Doctors’ and surgeons’ fees
- Hospitalization
- Medications
- In-home care
- Physical therapy/rehabilitation
- Replacement services
- Lost income
- Loss of benefits
- Reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
- Wrongful death action for a paraquat-caused death
If a family member or loved one suffered illness or injury from paraquat exposure and died as a result, you could pursue a wrongful death action against the herbicide’s manufacturer.
The outcome of this action could cover costs of the burial/cremation and funeral expenses, as well as lost income, loss of companionship, and other damages your loved one could have claimed had they survived their illness.
We’re ready to fight for you. Take the first step towards getting the compensation you deserve.
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The basis for today’s paraquat lawsuits
Paraquat is a popular weed killer mostly used to prevent grass and weeds from growing near crops on commercial farms. The herbicide is marketed as an alternative to glyphosate-resistant weeds and is sold as brands like Ortho Paraquat and Gramoxone.
In September 2019, the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health published research findings that link paraquat dichloride (or “paraquat”) exposure to the development of Parkinson’s disease. Researchers concluded that such exposure increased the risk of developing the illness by 25 percent.
These findings echoed concerns expressed in earlier research efforts. In 2009, the American Journal of Epidemiology published findings that paraquat exposure occurring within 1,600 feet of a home prompted a 75-percent increase in the risk of Parkinson’s disease. In 2011, Environmental Health Perspectives published a study that linked paraquat’s creation of oxidative stress to the development of Parkinson’s disease. These studies represent just a small sample of the research that connects paraquat with this illness.
Directly connected to serious health risks
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), paraquat poisoning can result from swallowing or inhaling the substance or skin absorption. Upon entering the body, paraquat can move to any part of the body, where it can produce dangerous chemical reactions. If it touches the lining of the intestines, stomach, or mouth, the substance can cause direct damage.
Specifically, the CDC lists several immediate signs, symptoms, and potential consequences of exposure to paraquat:
- Nausea, vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Dehydration
- Low blood pressure
- Confusion
- Fast heart rate
- Acute kidney failure
- Liver failure
- Pulmonary edema
- Respiratory failure
- Heart failure
- Death
- People who have suffered exposure and fallen ill are seeking compensation
Due to paraquat’s “highly toxic” nature, the EPA classifies the herbicide as “restricted use,” meaning a person must be a licensed applicator to use the substance. As such, paraquat manufacturers are facing lawsuits from people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease who worked with this commercial herbicide.
There are also lawsuits coming from those who lived close to a farm that used the substance and might have been exposed to spray drift. Plaintiffs allege that the manufacturers knew or should have known of the health risks of paraquat exposure.
How our law firm can help you
- Our law firm will fight tirelessly to hold the paraquat manufacturer accountable for your Parkinson’s-related losses. We know this has been a difficult journey for you, and we will make it our mission to relieve you of the burden of seeking the compensation you deserve.
- The legal team at Cordisco & Saile LLC will handle every aspect of your case, giving you the opportunity to get the rest you need:
- We will gather your medical records and connect the dots to show the connection between your illness and paraquat.
- Our lawyers will collaborate with medical experts to build our case showing the physiological and psychological effects of your paraquat exposure.
- We will also collaborate with economic experts who will diagram the financial losses you could experience well into the future due to your illness.
- Our attorneys will calculate your damages and work to negotiate a settlement that compensates you for all your losses.
- If negotiations do not get us to what we consider to be a reasonable settlement, we will pursue this legal action in civil court.
- We bring experience and a passion for justice to your paraquat case
We have been representing the injured people for 30 years. Our law firm has won millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for dozens of clients, enabling them to enjoy a more certain financial future.
Our attorneys and staff take pride in making themselves accessible, delivering proactive, responsive, and constant communication to our clients. You will always know the status of your case, and you will always feel the assurance that comes from our white-glove service.
Who is eligible to file a paraquat lawsuit?
Although licensed paraquat applicators suffer the greatest risk of exposure, even people who have not directly worked with the weed killer could have ingested, inhaled, or absorbed the harmful compound.
The types of people who most commonly experience paraquat exposure include:
- Farmworkers
- Farmers
- Landscapers
- Other types of agricultural workers (growers, pickers, etc.)
- People who live near farmland where paraquat is sprayed
- Individuals who work around commercial-grade herbicides
If you believe you were exposed to paraquat, and you have since developed Parkinson’s disease, you might qualify to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer. A member of our legal team will review the details of your case and inform you of your options.
Who is liable for your damages in this type of lawsuit?
Paraquat lawsuits allege that paraquat manufacturers continued to make and sell this herbicide, even after knowing about its toxicity and that they worked to conceal the product’s dangerous health risks from the public.
The “Paraquat Papers,” which Greenpeace published in March 2021, outlines Syngenta’s (makers of paraquat product Gramoxone) efforts to hide the health risks of Gramoxone from the public. The publication accuses Syngenta (and its predecessor Imperial Chemical Industries) of manipulating data and misrepresenting the addition of PP796 to prevent deadly poisoning so the company could continue selling Gramoxone.
Manufacturers as liable parties
Makers of products in which paraquat dichloride serves as an active ingredient could be liable for Parkinson’s-related damages. Examples of these products include:
- Gramoxone
- Devour
- Helmquat 3SL
- Ortho-Paraquat
- Bonedry
- Blanco
- Parazone
- Firestorm
- Tota-col
- Para-Shot 3.0
- Cyclone SL 2.0
Designers, distributors, and wholesalers of the above products could also be held liable for cases of paraquat-caused Parkinson’s.
Current cases are pending in MDL
In June 2021, hundreds of federal cases involving paraquat were transferred and combined in the Southern District of Illinois U.S. District Court paraquat products liability multi-district litigation (MDL), Case No. 3:21-MD-3004-NJR. Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel has scheduled the jury trial to commence on November 15, 2022.
The defendant in this case is Switzerland-based agriculture giant Syngenta, makers of Gramoxone, the most widely used paraquat herbicide in the U.S.
The purpose of an MDL is to streamline the legal process when multiple civil cases have one or more questions of fact in common. Whereas a class-action lawsuit involves the court rendering one judgment that affects all cases, an MDL unifies the pretrial proceedings for all cases, but each case is decided individually on its own merits.
EPA as a liable party
In July 2021, the EPA reapproved the use of paraquat, despite ever-increasing volumes of evidence pointing to the herbicide’s link to Parkinson’s disease. The decision seemed to fly in the face of the government agency’s acknowledgment that “one small sip [of paraquat] can be fatal and there is no antidote.”
A group of non-profits joined forces to sue the EPA for this reapproval, challenging the agency’s decision with this statement: “Paraquat is a highly toxic herbicide, exposure to which is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s Disease, respiratory distress, and, when ingested, sudden death.”
Thirty-two countries across the globe ban paraquat.
Meeting state-imposed deadlines for taking legal action
People across the country have suffered serious illnesses from paraquat, and they are filing Parkinson’s disease lawsuits to recover their losses.
When you consider pursuing your own paraquat herbicide lawsuit, you should be aware of the state-imposed time constraints in this type of case. Like most other states, New Jersey and Pennsylvania enforce statutes of limitations that restrict the amount of time you have to file a product liability lawsuit.
For New Jersey, N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2(a) states that you must take legal action within two years of the injury-causing incident with the defective product. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes: Title 42 § 5524 also requires you to file your lawsuit within two years from the date of your injury.
Understanding product liability cases
In order for a product liability lawsuit to succeed, the plaintiff in the case must prove that the product in question has some form of flaw or defect. From here, the plaintiff’s argument must further present evidence of this flaw occurring because of defective design, defective manufacturing, or failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions on how to properly use the product.
When a problem at the factory or during some stage of production caused a single product or one line of products to not work as designed, the law calls this defective manufacturing. If a product’s design is inherently defective, the legal issue is called defective design.
If the manufacturer of a product knew or should have known about a dangerous product defect, and the company failed to include this information in labeling or other types of instructions, the “failure to provide adequate warnings” element comes into play.
Taking smart steps after you develop Parkinson’s disease from paraquat
If you worked as a farmer or agricultural worker, or you lived near farmland where paraquat was used, and you believe exposure to the herbicide paraquat caused you to develop Parkinson’s disease, please consider calling our law firm sooner rather than later.
This will give our lawyers plenty of time to build your case. In the event that the matter does not settle during negotiations, we will need to file your lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires. Our attorneys will represent you in a civil court, where we will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
Call our firm today for your free, no-obligation case evaluation
Until you talk to a member of our legal team, please refrain from talking in-depth with representatives of the insurance company or of the paraquat weedkiller manufacturer. Certainly, do not sign any agreements without our lawyer by your side.
Call Cordisco & Saile LLC today for your free case evaluation: 215-642-2335.
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