If you follow my blog, you’ve probably heard about paraquat. If you’re unfamiliar with paraquat, it’s a highly toxic herbicide that may cause Parkinson’s disease. As you might imagine, this potential link is alarming and has led to quite a few lawsuits. Let’s take a look at the current status of these paraquat cases.

Paraquat Lawsuits Begin

It’s undisputed as to the harm paraquat can cause when humans are exposed to it in large amounts over a short period of time. But much of the current litigation concerns plaintiffs who were exposed to paraquat for extended periods, such as when using it often while working on a farm. Due to this long-term exposure, plaintiffs are claiming that paraquat caused their Parkinson’s disease.

The first major lawsuit alleging a link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease was filed in 2017. Since then, hundreds of plaintiffs have sued the makers and distributors of paraquat (such as Chevron and Syngenta) claiming paraquat caused their Parkinson’s disease.

Paraquat Lawsuits Get Consolidated

In June 2021, several paraquat lawsuits were combined into the In re: Paraquat Products Liability Litigation. This is a type of multi-district litigation (MDL), where many of the pre-trial litigation matters in the participating cases get handled together. Even though each case stands on its own and can still have its own trial, a single court will oversee pre-trial matters such as motions and discovery. These pre-trial rulings will apply to all of the cases. This makes it possible to save a lot of time and effort by avoiding repetitive court proceedings and decisions.

Major Events in the Paraquat MDL So Far

The Paraquat MDL is progressing, with several notable events during the litigation process. However, none of these events have significantly altered the potential outcome of the MDL.

In October 2021, the defendants filed several motions to dismiss and cited various reasons, such as the passing of the statute of limitations deadline.

On December 3, 2021, the court instructed both sides to choose 16 cases to proceed with limited discovery. Limited discovery meant the parties were restricted in what documents they could request and the number of depositions they could take.

In March 2022, the MDL court decided the motions to dismiss and gave each side a partial victory. The court sided with the plaintiffs by concluding that the cases were not filed too late in violation of the applicable statute of limitations or statute of repose (which is not the same thing as a statute of limitations but works in a similar way to time-bar a lawsuit).

Nevertheless, the court ruled in favor of the defendants by agreeing to dismiss several causes of action concerning public nuisance and consumer protection. Yet having these causes of action thrown out wasn’t a major blow to the plaintiffs because they could still proceed with their other claims.

On April 13, 2022, the court issued an order choosing six cases to proceed with expanded discovery. This discovery is to conclude by September 2022, with bellwether cases to begin a few months later in November.

What’s Next for the Paraquat MDL

In compliance with the April 13, 2022 order, both sides will resume discovery, which will include a lot of documents being exchanged and individuals being deposed. Then the bellwether trials start in the fall.

The outcomes of the bellwether cases do not apply to the other cases in the MDL. However, they’re important because they can help predict how future cases in the MDL will turn out if they get to trial or settle.

How the bellwether cases turn out won’t guarantee any future result. But imagine if six paraquat bellwether cases result in five verdicts for the plaintiff and one hung jury. It’ll mean that during settlement negotiations, the plaintiffs will have a lot of leverage. And any global settlement will be far greater than if the defendants won at least a few of those six bellwether cases. It could also mean the plaintiffs are more willing to take certain cases to trial.

Have You Been Exposed to Paraquat and Now Suffer from Parkinson’s Disease?

If you’re reading this right now, I sincerely hope your answer to this question is “no.” But if it’s a “yes” or “maybe,” then you should think about the possibility of joining the paraquat MDL to help pay for your medical care and to compensate you for your serious health issues. If you have any questions about paraquat, don’t hesitate to give me a call at my firm Harris Sarratt & Hodges (919.830.5602).

There are many reasons to become educated on the herbicide Paraquat: it’s very dangerous, very toxic, and unfortunately studies are starting to indicate that it can cause serious disease if you’re exposed to it in any length of time.

What is Paraquat? / Why is it used?

Paraquat is a toxic chemical that is widely used in this country, particularly in the eastern half of the United States where there’s a lot of farmland, orchards, agricultural areas. It is used as an herbicide, a plant killer primarily for weed and grass control.

It’s also used as a drying agent for certain crops; the technical term for that is desiccant. It is also used as a defoliant. So again, its main use is to control weeds and grasses that grow in an agricultural setting when you’re trying to grow some kind of crop. It’s also used as a drying agent for certain crops, like cotton, prior to harvest.

The good news is that Paraquat is not something you can obtain easily. It’s not something you can buy over the counter; you can’t get it at Lowe’s or Home Depot, or you certainly shouldn’t be able to get it there. And it’s not to be used for home landscaping, weed control on your lawns, nothing like that. In fact, it’s a restricted use pesticide (RUP). And so what that means is you must have a license to buy the product Paraquat. You must be a licensed applicator, to buy Paraquat to mix it up and to apply it to farmland.

Unfortunately it is common that these restricted use pesticide licenses are used by people who then allow some of their workers to apply the Paraquat to crops and other environments for weed control. And so it’s not just those people with licenses that may end up being vulnerable to injury and disease. But it’s any worker that handles this product.

One article I read suggested that Paraquat has gotten more popular in the United States partly because some weeds and grasses have become resistant to glyphosate, which is the active chemical in Roundup and because of that, they need a more effective weed killer and that’s where Paraquat comes in. So even though it’s highly toxic, highly dangerous, it’s become more popular over the last 20 years.

Now, as I wrote in an article a few months ago on my website, www.northcarolinaproductliabilitylawyer.com, I was introducing my readers to some of the basics of Paraquat. And one thing I noted is that it is highly toxic and even poisonous and that I’ve read that even a thimble-full of it, if you ingest it, it could be fatal and so, it’s a horrible chemical for safety reasons, even while it is highly effective at weed control and drying out crops like, hay, cotton, things like that.

Some of the brand names that you might find Paraquat out there is Firestorm, Cyclone, Helmquat, Parazone, Parashot, and Gramaxone. So, those are some of the brand names but Paraquat is the name of this chemical that we’re dealing with and that I’ll continue to use today.

Who Uses Paraquat?

Obviously, agricultural workers might have access to Paraquat and might be asked to put it on crops, whether they’re spraying it by hand, after they mix it up with water or if they are driving a tractor and covering larger amounts of farmland. Farmworkers, crop dusters, pesticide applicators, tanker workers, pretty much anyone who works in the agricultural industry or works with orchards or even vineyards, might have access to Paraquat. Again, there has to be the RUP license, the restricted use pesticides license to buy it but I do think people who work with people who have the license may be asked to apply it. Anybody who works in this industry or any of these industries needs to be aware that it’s out there and it could be possibly dangerous for you.

Let me say that if you work in agriculture or in a vineyard or an orchard, you probably know what you’re doing and you probably know if Paraquat is involved in the day’s work. So for those people, you got to be very vigilant and you probably need to listen to the rest of this podcast because there’s some important health information.

So, I’ve talked about all the places that Paraquat might be used as a weed control chemical or as a drying agent—desiccant. The primary crops that it’s used to fight off weeds and is often used in relation to the growing of soybeans, cotton, corn, rice, tobacco. It’s used extensively in the eastern half of the United States. And that’s pretty obvious because there’s a lot of farmland in the eastern half of the United States. It is a very common in my home, North Carolina, because there are many farms in this state and throughout the east coast. If you live in this part of the country you’re probably not far away from a farm that has used Paraquat in the last year or more recently.

Paraquat and Parkinson’s Disease

Studies have started to indicate a significant and alarming connection between the exposure to Paraquat, the use of Paraquat, and the development of Parkinson’s disease. Now, Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that can lead to trembling, shaking, stiffness in the body, difficulty with balance, coordination, walking. As with most diseases, these symptoms usually come on gradually and maybe imperceptibly for months or years. But as the disease progresses, people have more trouble with the trembling, more trouble with walking and balance, and it can become a debilitating disease.

I won’t go into too much detail about the science behind the studies that show how exposure to Paraquat can lead to Parkinson’s disease. But I just want to do some high-level discussion of why it happens and why epidemiologists and scientists believe there is a significant connection between exposure Paraquat and Parkinson’s.

The main issue seems to be this concept of oxidative stress. It’s essentially an imbalance between the production and accumulation of oxygen reactive species and cells and the antioxidant defenses that are able to neutralize these oxygen reactive species. There are a lot of environmental factors that can lead to harmful levels of oxidative stress in the body and that it can include non-Paraquat conditions or triggers like obesity, exposure to radiation, smoking cigarettes, pollution, that kind of thing. But what scientists are increasingly finding in the studies is that exposure to toxic pesticides and specifically Paraquat can cause this extreme oxidative stress. It can cause it at such a level that it can damage areas of the brain that are otherwise able to function properly and cause injury and acute damage, such that Parkinson’s disease can develop in the brain. So obviously there’s more to the story of the science connecting Paraquat to a higher risk for developing Parkinson’s disease, but that gives you a thumbnail of why they think this is occurring and how it can damage one specific part of the brain that can lead to Parkinson’s disease. For more information there are studies out there that you can read and learn more about specifically, if you’re an individual who spent the last few years (or even less time) working in a farm-like setting.

Paraquat Regulations

At least with respect to the United States, there has not been a ban on Paraquat and the EPA, as recently as October 2020, reapproved Paraquat for use in the United States. Now, let me re-emphasize that not everybody can buy this product. I cannot purchase Paraquat. You probably may not be able too. You must have a Restricted Use Pesticide license to even purchase the chemical. There are serious warning labels on the bottles of Paraquat that talk about how poisonous it can be. But I think it’s really important and I need to emphasize that the EPA takes the position that the connection between Paraquat and Parkinson’s disease is not strong enough to justify a ban. So even while there might be a strong warning on the Paraquat bottle that it’s toxic and even fatal if swallowed (and it certainly can kill you if you drink any amount of it), the EPA is not yet willing to warn the consuming public about the growing science showing a connection between Paraquat and Parkinson’s disease.

Now even though the EPA hasn’t banned Paraquat in the U.S., the chemical has been banned in 32 countries. Many countries in Europe banned Paraquat for use in the 1980s and 1990s. The United States will not follow suit and that’s I think unfortunate. And sadly, I think it must be mentioned that the EPA’s refusal to ban such a dangerous chemical in the United States may very likely have something to do with the way the United States always seems bow down to large corporate interests and profit-making opportunities and Paraquat is certainly a profitable chemical that is sold by Syngenta and (for a period of time) Chevron, who will turn out to be the key defendants in the litigation that is emerging over Paraquat.

If you want to hear more about the connection between health care and the overwhelming obsessions with profit in this country, I invite you to listen to a podcast I did a few months ago with my good friend Dr. Jerome Hoffman. It’s called “Excessive Testing, Diagnosis and Treatment: A Conversation with Dr. Jerome Hoffman.” And in that podcast we talked a lot about how the profit motive in this country leads to some very unhappy results in medicine, health care, and all of corporate America.

Paraquat Litigation: Do You Have a Case?

Paraquat litigation is on the rise. It’s no secret that because Paraquat has been shown to increase the risk and perhaps cause the development of Parkinson’s disease, lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers of Paraquat. The two key defendants in this operation are Syngenta and Chevron USA (for the period of time when Paraquat was sold by Chevron). So do you have a possible case? The answer is, you must check some serious boxes to be eligible for a lawsuit here. First you have to be able to confirm exposure to Paraquat. All detail is important in any litigation, but certainly this one you want to be able to establish that you worked in an agricultural setting, worked on a farm, an orchard, a vineyard; you need to be able to establish that you used Paraquat, applied it to crops, applied it to the fields. Dates are very important, as are receipts. If you’re one of the people who have the license to purchase Paraquat, all those receipts are vitally important. How often did you apply the Paraquat and how often were you exposed to it? Any details like that are very helpful.

There may be other opportunities for people who lived near farmland, perhaps right beside a farm where crop-dusting took place regularly or tractors applied Paraquat over a period of months or years. Proximity might be another way you can be exposed. Also, scientists believe airborne drift may lead to unhealthy exposure. If you live within five or ten miles of a farm where Paraquat is regularly used and then as the years pass, you develop Parkinson’s disease, then you may be in line to pursue litigation against these big Paraquat defendants.

Second, you need to have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. If not a diagnosis you need to exhibit many of the symptoms that are associated with Parkinson’s. But let me be very clear: if you have been exposed to Paraquat and you are having symptoms of trembling or shaking, difficulty walking, difficulty with balance but you don’t have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, I’m afraid you need to get to a doctor and get diagnosed and find out what’s wrong. You need to do that regardless of what you choose to do with any litigation.

There are also some other serious ailments and diseases that may develop that you need to be aware of. If you have been exposed to Paraquat and while you don’t yet have a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, you’ve got kidney disease or renal failure or certain symptoms consistent with Parkinson’s disease, then you may well have a claim in the Paraquat litigation.

This litigation is very new, and a multidistrict litigation site has recently been established in June 2021, in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois. As of last week there were 60 cases filed, but obviously there’s going to be dozens more cases filed soon. The studies are increasing that show a real connection between this seriously toxic chemical and the development of a horrible and debilitating disease: Parkinson’s.

That’s the story of Paraquat for today. It’s not a happy story and I hope you were never exposed to the chemical at work. If you were exposed, and you’ve developed this disease, you may want to look into your whether you should be involved in the litigation. You can always reach out to me at my firm Harris Sarratt & Hodges in North Carolina. My number is (919) 830-5602.

Again, stay healthy, be well, and good luck.

¿Qué es el paraquat?

Es un químico tóxico que se usa ampliamente en este país, particularmente en la mitad este de los Estados Unidos, donde hay muchas tierras de cultivo, huertos y áreas agrícolas. Se utiliza como herbicida, un asesino de plantas principalmente para el control de malezas y pastos.

También se utiliza como agente secante para ciertos cultivos; el término técnico para eso es desecante. También se utiliza como defoliante. Una vez más, su uso principal es controlar las malezas y pastos que crecen en un entorno agrícola cuando se intenta cultivar algún tipo de cultivo. También se usa como agente de secado para ciertos cultivos, como el algodón, antes de la cosecha.

La buena noticia es que el paraquat no es algo que se pueda obtener fácilmente. No es algo que pueda comprar sin receta; no puede conseguirlo en Lowe’s o Home Depot, o ciertamente no debería poder conseguirlo allí. Y no debe usarse para jardinería doméstica, control de malezas en su césped, nada de eso. De hecho, es un pesticida de uso restringido (RUP). Entonces, lo que eso significa es que debe tener una licencia para comprar el producto Paraquat. Debe ser un aplicador con licencia para comprar Paraquat para mezclarlo y aplicarlo en tierras de cultivo.

Desafortunadamente, es común que estas licencias de pesticidas de uso restringido sean utilizadas por personas que luego permiten que algunos de sus trabajadores apliquen el Paraquat en cultivos y otros entornos para el control de malezas. Por lo tanto, no son solo las personas con licencias las que pueden terminar siendo vulnerables a lesiones y enfermedades. Pero es cualquier trabajador el que manipula este producto.

Un artículo que leí sugirió que el paraquat se ha vuelto más popular en los Estados Unidos en parte porque algunas malezas y pastos se han vuelto resistentes al glifosato, que es el químico activo en Roundup y debido a eso, necesitan un herbicida más efectivo y ahí es donde el paraquat entra. Entonces, aunque es altamente tóxico, altamente peligroso, se ha vuelto más popular en los últimos 20 años.

Ahora, como escribí en un artículo hace unos meses en mi sitio web, www.northcarolinaproductliabilitylawyer.com, estaba presentando a mis lectores algunos de los conceptos básicos del Paraquat. Y una cosa que noté es que es altamente tóxico e incluso venenoso y que he leído que incluso un dedal lleno, si lo ingieres, podría ser fatal y, por lo tanto, es un químico horrible por razones de seguridad, incluso mientras que es muy eficaz para el control de malezas y el secado de cultivos como heno, algodón, cosas por el estilo.

Algunas de las marcas que puede encontrar Paraquat son Firestorm, Cyclone, Helmquat, Parazone, Parashot y Gramaxone. Entonces, esos son algunos de los nombres de marca, pero Paraquat es el nombre de este químico con el que estamos tratando y que continuaré usando hoy.

¿Quién usa paraquat?

Obviamente, los trabajadores agrícolas pueden tener acceso al paraquat y se les puede pedir que lo pongan en los cultivos, ya sea que lo estén rociando a mano, después de mezclarlo con agua o si están conduciendo un tractor y cubriendo grandes cantidades de tierra de cultivo. Los trabajadores agrícolas, fumigadores, aplicadores de pesticidas, trabajadores de camiones cisterna, casi cualquier persona que trabaje en la industria agrícola o trabaje con huertos o incluso viñedos, podría tener acceso al Paraquat. Una vez más, tiene que haber una licencia RUP, la licencia de pesticidas de uso restringido para comprarlo, pero creo que a las personas que trabajan con personas que tienen la licencia se les puede pedir que la apliquen. Cualquiera que trabaje en esta industria o en cualquiera de estas industrias debe ser consciente de que está ahí fuera y que podría ser peligroso para usted.

Déjeme decirle que si trabaja en la agricultura o en un viñedo o un huerto, probablemente sepa lo que está haciendo y probablemente sepa si el Paraquat está involucrado en el trabajo del día. Entonces, para esas personas, deben estar muy atentos y probablemente necesiten escuchar el resto de este podcast porque hay información de salud importante.

Entonces, he hablado de todos los lugares en los que el paraquat podría usarse como químico para el control de malezas o como agente secante: desecante. Los cultivos primarios que se utiliza para combatir las malas hierbas y se utiliza a menudo en relación con el cultivo de soja, algodón, maíz, arroz, tabaco. Se usa ampliamente en la mitad oriental de los Estados Unidos. Y eso es bastante obvio porque hay muchas tierras agrícolas en la mitad este de los Estados Unidos. Es muy común en mi casa, Carolina del Norte, porque hay muchas granjas en este estado y en toda la costa este. Si vive en esta parte del país, probablemente no esté lejos de una granja que haya utilizado Paraquat en el último año o más recientemente.

Paraquat y enfermedad de Parkinson

Los estudios han comenzado a indicar una conexión significativa y alarmante entre la exposición al Paraquat, el uso de Paraquat y el desarrollo de la enfermedad de Parkinson. Ahora, la enfermedad de Parkinson es un trastorno cerebral que puede provocar temblores, temblores, rigidez en el cuerpo, dificultad para mantener el equilibrio, la coordinación y caminar. Como ocurre con la mayoría de las enfermedades, estos síntomas suelen aparecer de forma gradual y quizás imperceptible durante meses o años. Pero a medida que la enfermedad progresa, las personas tienen más problemas con el temblor, más problemas para caminar y mantener el equilibrio, y puede convertirse en una enfermedad debilitante.

No entraré en demasiados detalles sobre la ciencia detrás de los estudios que muestran cómo la exposición al paraquat puede conducir a la enfermedad de Parkinson. Pero solo quiero hacer una discusión de alto nivel sobre por qué sucede y por qué los epidemiólogos y científicos creen que existe una conexión significativa entre la exposición al paraquat y la enfermedad de Parkinson.

El principal problema parece ser este concepto de estrés oxidativo. Es esencialmente un desequilibrio entre la producción y acumulación de especies y células reactivas al oxígeno y las defensas antioxidantes que pueden neutralizar estas especies reactivas al oxígeno. Hay muchos factores ambientales que pueden conducir a niveles dañinos de estrés oxidativo en el cuerpo y que pueden incluir condiciones no relacionadas con el paraquat o desencadenantes como obesidad, exposición a la radiación, fumar cigarrillos, contaminación, ese tipo de cosas. Pero lo que los científicos encuentran cada vez más en los estudios es que la exposición a pesticidas tóxicos y específicamente al Paraquat puede causar este estrés oxidativo extremo. Puede causarlo a un nivel tal que puede dañar áreas del cerebro que de otra manera podrían funcionar correctamente y causar lesiones y daños agudos, de modo que la enfermedad de Parkinson puede desarrollarse en el cerebro. Entonces, obviamente, hay más en la historia de la ciencia que conecta al paraquat con un mayor riesgo de desarrollar la enfermedad de Parkinson, pero eso le da una idea de por qué creen que esto está ocurriendo y cómo puede dañar una parte específica del cerebro que puede conducir a la enfermedad de Parkinson. enfermedad. Para obtener más información, existen estudios que puede leer y aprender más específicamente, si es una persona que pasó los últimos años (o incluso menos tiempo) trabajando en un entorno similar a una granja.

Regulaciones de paraquat

Al menos con respecto a los Estados Unidos, no ha habido una prohibición del Paraquat y la EPA, en octubre de 2020, volvió a aprobar el Paraquat para su uso en los Estados Unidos. Ahora, permítanme volver a enfatizar que no todos pueden comprar este producto. No puedo comprar Paraquat. Probablemente usted no pueda también. Debe tener una licencia de pesticidas de uso restringido para incluso comprar el químico. Hay etiquetas de advertencia serias en las botellas de Paraquat que hablan de lo venenoso que puede ser. Pero creo que es realmente importante y necesito enfatizar que la EPA toma la posición de que la conexión entre el paraquat y la enfermedad de Parkinson no es lo suficientemente fuerte como para justificar una prohibición. Entonces, aunque puede haber una fuerte advertencia en la botella de paraquat de que es tóxico e incluso fatal si se ingiere (y ciertamente puede matarlo si bebe cualquier cantidad), la EPA aún no está dispuesta a advertir al público consumidor sobre el ciencia creciente que muestra una conexión entre el paraquat y la enfermedad de Parkinson.

Ahora, aunque la EPA no ha prohibido el paraquat en los EE. UU., El químico ha sido prohibido en 32 países. Muchos países de Europa prohibieron el uso de paraquat en las décadas de 1980 y 1990. Estados Unidos no hará lo mismo y creo que eso es lamentable. Y, lamentablemente, creo que debe mencionarse que la negativa de la EPA a prohibir una sustancia química tan peligrosa en los Estados Unidos probablemente tenga algo que ver con la forma en que Estados Unidos siempre parece inclinarse ante los grandes intereses corporativos y las oportunidades de lucro y El paraquat es sin duda un producto químico rentable vendido por Syngenta y (durante un tiempo) Chevron, quienes resultarán ser los principales demandados en el litigio que está surgiendo sobre el paraquat.

Si quieres saber más sobre la conexión entre el cuidado de la salud y las abrumadoras obsesiones con las ganancias en este país, te invito a escuchar un podcast que hice hace unos meses con mi buen amigo el Dr. Jerome Hoffman. Se llama “Exceso de pruebas, diagnóstico y tratamiento: una conversación con el Dr. Jerome Hoffman”. Y en ese podcast hablamos mucho sobre cómo el afán de lucro en este país conduce a resultados muy infelices en la medicina, el cuidado de la salud y en toda la América corporativa.

Litigio de Paraquat: ¿Tiene un caso?

Los litigios relacionados con el paraquat van en aumento. No es ningún secreto que debido a que se ha demostrado que el paraquat aumenta el riesgo y quizás causa el desarrollo de la enfermedad de Parkinson, se han presentado demandas contra los fabricantes de Paraquat. Los dos acusados ​​clave en esta operación son Syngenta y Chevron USA (durante el período en que Chevron vendió Paraquat). Entonces, ¿tienes un caso posible? La respuesta es que debe marcar algunas casillas serias para ser elegible para una demanda aquí. Primero debe poder confirmar la exposición al paraquat. Todos los detalles son importantes en cualquier litigio, pero seguro que en este quieres poder establecer que trabajaste en un entorno agrícola, trabajaste en una finca, un huerto, un viñedo; debe poder establecer que usó Paraquat, lo aplicó a los cultivos, lo aplicó a los campos. Las fechas son muy importantes, al igual que los recibos. Si usted es una de las personas que tiene la licencia para comprar Paraquat, todos esos recibos son de vital importancia. ¿Con qué frecuencia aplicó el Paraquat y con qué frecuencia estuvo expuesto a él? Cualquier detalle como ese es muy útil.

Puede haber otras oportunidades para las personas que vivían cerca de las tierras de cultivo, tal vez justo al lado de una granja donde se realizaba regularmente el desempolvado de los cultivos o donde los tractores aplicaban Paraquat durante un período de meses o años. La proximidad puede ser otra forma de exponerse. Además, los científicos creen que la deriva en el aire puede provocar una exposición poco saludable. Si vive a cinco o diez millas de una granja donde se usa regularmente Paraquat y luego, a medida que pasan los años, desarrolla la enfermedad de Parkinson, entonces puede estar en línea para iniciar un litigio contra estos grandes acusados ​​de Paraquat.

En segundo lugar, debe tener un diagnóstico de enfermedad de Parkinson. Si no es un diagnóstico, debe presentar muchos de los síntomas asociados con la enfermedad de Parkinson. Pero déjeme ser muy claro: si ha estado expuesto al paraquat y tiene síntomas de temblores o temblores, dificultad para caminar, dificultad para mantener el equilibrio pero no tiene un diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Parkinson, me temo que debe obtener a un médico y obtener un diagnóstico y averiguar qué está mal. Debe hacerlo independientemente de lo que elija hacer con cualquier litigio.

También existen otras dolencias y enfermedades graves que pueden desarrollarse y que debe conocer. Si ha estado expuesto al paraquat y, aunque aún no tiene un diagnóstico de enfermedad de Parkinson, tiene enfermedad renal o insuficiencia renal o ciertos síntomas compatibles con la enfermedad de Parkinson, es posible que tenga un reclamo en el litigio de Paraquat.

Este litigio es muy nuevo, y recientemente se estableció un sitio de litigio multidistrital en junio de 2021, en un tribunal federal en el Distrito Sur de Illinois. Hasta la semana pasada, se presentaron 60 casos, pero obviamente pronto se presentarán docenas de casos más. Están aumentando los estudios que muestran una conexión real entre esta sustancia química seriamente tóxica y el desarrollo de una enfermedad horrible y debilitante: el Parkinson.

Esa es la historia del Paraquat de hoy. No es una historia feliz y espero que nunca haya estado expuesto a la sustancia química en el trabajo. Si estuvo expuesto y ha desarrollado esta enfermedad, es posible que desee investigar si debe participar en el litigio. Siempre puede comunicarse conmigo en mi firma Harris Sarratt & Hodges en Carolina del Norte. Mi número es (919) 830-5602.

Nuevamente, manténgase saludable, esté bien y buena suerte.

It sounds like an exotic fruit, or perhaps a cute little pet name, but touching or eating paraquat dichloride (paraquat) can result in nasty consequences. This toxic substance has a significant history, but more recently, has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. As a result, the herbicide has been subject to litigation. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at paraquat and the emerging lawsuits.

What Is Paraquat?

Historically, paraquat has had two main uses. First, and sadly, it’s been an effective way of committing suicide. Ingesting just one sip could result in death. In fact, when South Korea banned the herbicide in 2011, its overall suicide rate fell 10% and its suicide rate by herbicide or fungicide dropped by more than 46%.

The second and more mainstream use of paraquat is as an herbicide, usually to kill weeds. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified paraquat as a Restricted Use Pesticide. This means that the EPA knows the herbicide is so dangerous, only individuals with the appropriate license can use it. Paraquat lawfully used in the United must also have the following modifications:

• Adding a special dye to the liquid form of paraquat to prevent confusing it with a beverage.
• Giving it a strong smell to warn people that they are in its vicinity.
• Placing a vomiting agent in the substance to automatically induce vomiting in cases of accidental ingestion.

Paraquat has been very popular as an herbicide because it works on contact, it works quickly and it sometimes works better than other popular alternatives, like herbicides containing glyphosate (such as Roundup). Paraquat’s use has increased lately given the extensive litigation due to glyphosate’s alleged link to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

But now, litigation involving paraquat is growing because of its apparent link to Parkinson’s disease.

Paraquat’s Possible Link to Parkinson’s Disease

The risk of significant, short-term exposure to paraquat has been known for a long time. It’s the long-term effects of less drastic levels of exposure that have been slowly making their way to the general public. However, these aren’t brand new developments and dozens of countries around the world have already banned its use.

For example, a 2009 study mentioned the possible link between Parkinson’s disease and applying paraquat close to residential homes. A 2011 study found that people who used paraquat or rotenone were 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. And a 2013 meta-analysis looked at 104 studies concerning the link between Parkinson’s disease and pesticide and solvent exposure. It found that exposure to paraquat or maneb was associated with a two-fold increase in the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease.

These are just a few of the studies finding a link between Parkinson’s disease and paraquat. So it’s no surprise that there have been lawsuits alleging that the herbicide has caused people to contract Parkinson’s disease.

The Status of Paraquat Litigation

The first major case concerning paraquat came in 2017, when the plaintiffs alleged the makers, distributors and sellers of paraquat were responsible for their injuries, including Parkinson’s disease. They relied on multiple legal theories, such as:

• Strict product liability – design defect
• Strict product liability – failure to warn
• Negligence
• Public nuisance
• Breach of implied warranty of merchantability

Since then, dozens of lawsuits in both state and federal courts have been filed against Syngenta, Chevron and other companies involved in the sale, manufacture or distribution of the dangerous substance. Due to the unique nature of the injuries many of these plaintiffs have suffered, these cases likely cannot be litigated with a class-action lawsuit.

To help handle these lawsuits in a more efficient manner, they might get consolidated into multi-district litigation, or MDL. In early April, one of the plaintiffs in a federal paraquat case filed a motion to transfer all of the federal lawsuits into an MDL.

If an MDL is created, it won’t happen immediately. Over the next few weeks and months, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will have a hearing (or two) to decide if an MDL is warranted and if so, how it should be set up. Then once there’s an MDL, it will often take a few years to complete discovery and conduct bellwether trials.

If there are any notable changes in this litigation, I will provide an update. If you were exposed to paraquat, or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me on this website’s contact page or give me a call at (919) 830-5602.