Paraquat Lawsuits

People exposed to paraquat who developed Parkinson’s disease filed lawsuits against Syngenta, Chevron and other defendants seeking compensation and holding corporations accountable for negligence.

Parkinson’s disease can be debilitating. Filing a paraquat lawsuit may help secure compensation to pay for costly medical bills, lost wages and other expenses for past and future care. You may also receive compensation for physical and emotional pain and suffering as well as loss of quality of life.

Paraquat Lawsuit Updates

As of August 22, 2023, there were 4,554 paraquat lawsuits pending in Illinois federal court. The first bellwether trial was scheduled for July 2023 but has since been moved to October 2023.

The majority of paraquat claims are in the Illinois MDL, but another large group of paraquat lawsuits formed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. A judge signed an order on March 31, 2023, allowing cases to proceed with a short-form complaint.

“Lawsuits have been filed in the state courts of California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Washington. The first state court trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 5, 2023, in California. An additional state court trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 8, 2024, in Florida,” according to Syngenta’s 2022 annual report.

People who worked around paraquat or were exposed to paraquat regularly and later developed Parkinson’s disease may be eligible to file a paraquat lawsuit for compensation.

Most people exposed to paraquat work in commercial agriculture or live near commercial farms. Paraquat is a restricted-use herbicide. This means only licensed, trained applicators can use it, and it’s not licensed for home use.

Those who live near farms may be exposed through spray drift or contaminated water. People who live with licensed applicators may be exposed through contaminated clothing or equipment and by accompanying applicators to work sites.

Contacting a paraquat lawyer is the only way to be sure you qualify. There are time limits to file a lawsuit, so you should contact a lawyer right away. Some types of paraquat exposure are more difficult to determine than others, but an experienced paraquat attorney can help prove your case.

Most people who filed paraquat lawsuits said the weed killer led them to develop Parkinson’s disease, but some lawsuits include other injuries, such as kidney disease. Some of the earliest lawsuits were filed in 2016, according to Syngenta’s 2018 Financial Report.

As the number of lawsuits continued to grow, plaintiff’s lawyers petitioned the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate lawsuits before one federal court. These paraquat class-action suits and individual injury claims are now consolidated in Illinois federal court under Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel.

In most cases, plaintiffs worked with paraquat for many years before receiving a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. Some paraquat lawsuits are part of a paraquat class-action suit, while others are individual injury lawsuits.

Paraquat Lawsuit Settlements

Some experts think an average paraquat settlement amount could be between $100,000 and $500,000, depending on the severity of injuries. But this is just an estimate. The outcome of the first trial in October 2023 will provide more information for potential case values.

In June 2021, Syngenta and another defendant reached a settlement agreement with a few paraquat claimants for $187.5 million, according to Syngenta’s 2022 annual report. There haven’t been any other court-approved settlements since then.

The same properties that make paraquat toxic to plants and animals are what cause Parkinson’s disease in humans, according to studies cited in each Parkinson’s disease paraquat lawsuit. Scientists think Parkinson’s disease is caused by the death of neurons that produce dopamine in the brain.

Studies have shown paraquat creates oxidative stress that kills dopamine-producing neurons. The scientific community has known about paraquat’s oxidative stress qualities since the 1960s, according to lawsuits.

Some people may confuse the herbicide Roundup with paraquat, but Roundup does not contain paraquat. Roundup’s active ingredient is glyphosate, a chemical that has been linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. People have filed Roundup lawsuits against Bayer and Monsanto that claim they hid the risks of the weed killer from the public.

Is Paraquat Banned in the United States?

Paraquat is not banned in the United States, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has restricted its use to licensed applicators. Because of its toxicity, some lawmakers and activists have fought to get it banned. So far, legislation to ban paraquat hasn’t been successful.

After reviewing more than 70 articles on paraquat exposure, the EPA concluded “there is insufficient evidence to link registered paraquat products to any of the health outcomes investigated, including Parkinson’s disease, when used according to the label.”