Who Qualifies for the Paraquat Lawsuit?

Farmers, agricultural workers and agricultural laborers who were exposed on commercial farms and industrial farms as far back as the 1960’s who are now suffering from Parkinson’s Disease as a result of exposure to the toxic herbicide Paraquat are eligible to file a Paraquat lawsuit. If you have been exposed to the Paraquat or were a licensed applicator of Paraquat, you need a top rated Paraquat Parkinson’s Disease attorney to handle your claim.

What is the average Paraquat Settlement?

As of November 2022, there have been no publicly announced Paraquat lawsuit settlement amounts. We expect that Paraquat lawsuit settlement amounts for Parkinson’s disease patients vary greatly. Each claim is different, and those who develop Parkinson’s disease suffer different symptoms and face different consequences for their condition. While it is still premature to accurately predict a settlement amount, our Paraquat attorneys anticipate settlement amounts will range from $250,000.00 to over $1,000.000.00.

Paraquat Lawsuits | Call Our Paraquat Attorneys to Sue and Join the Litigation

Recent Marin and Barrett Paraquat Review

“When selecting an attorney, doctor, or contractor, I’m very diligent about my research. Choosing Marin and Barrett for my wife’s paraquat case was clearly the right choice. The larger law firms that specialize in these cases are largely paper mills. In my wife’s case, I have spoken with Matt Marin directly several times and emailed many more. He has been very professional, compassionate, and timely in all our interactions. I recommend him highly.”

L. Williams Review on Google

WHAT IS PARAQUAT?

Paraquat dichloride is a chemical agent most commonly used as an herbicide. Although it was first produced more than 130 years ago, its application as an herbicide did not become popularized until the mid-20^th century. Paraquat is now used as a non-selective herbicide agent on a range of more than 100 different types of crops. It’s use has grown significantly over the past 30 years and is now used extensively with the following agricultural crops:

Corn;
Soybeans;
Wheat;
Cotton;
Vegetables and Fruit;
Rice;
Orchards and Grapes;
Alfalfa;
Sweet Potatoes;
Pasture and Hay.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Paraquat is a restricted use chemical – meaning that commercially licensed users are the only entities that can purchase it. As weeds and grass growth have grown more resistant to other industrial herbicides, commercial farmers and other entities have increased their usage of the deadly herbicide Paraquat over the last 20 years. About 11 million pounds of paraquat are sprayed on crops in the US annually. However, the use of Paraquat and other toxic herbicides has been banned in over 32 countries over the past 40 years due to health concerns and its acutely toxic nature. There is also a ban on Paraquat in England and the European Union since 2013 due to its effect on the human body.

PARAQUAT PARKINSON’S LAWSUIT 2023 UPDATEs:

As of August 18th, 2022, the first bellwether trial in the Paraquat multidistrict litigation was scheduled to begin in November 2022 in the District Court and be followed by a second trial in March 2023. Unfortunately, these Paraquat MDL trial dates have been pushed back. Federal Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel issued a Case Management Order (CMO No.15) cancelling these dates and rescheduling the first bellwether trial for July 2023. According to Judge Nancy Rosenstengel, she made this decision in order to allow time for additional discovery in the Federal Courts.

Unfortunately, this is not great news for the plaintiffs as defendants and defense attorneys normally feel more pressure to consider settlement amounts close to trial. This pushes the trial dates back six months.

October 21, 2022: In an article released by the Guardian yesterday, information on leaked emails of secret files suggests Syngenta (the chemical giant that produced Paraquat) employees feared a link between the weedkiller and Parkinson’s disease. Syngenta later paid to influence marketing and scientific panels to avoid any scientific findings linking Paraquat to Parkinson’s disease, as evidenced in emails.

September 27, 2022: This past week, the Biden administration announced they would be further reviewing its 15 year re-approval of Paraquat to be used commercially in the United States. The decision comes almost a year after the administration moved to re-approve the use, which was met with several lawsuits by many non-profits such as the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, the Pesticide Action Network, the Farmworker Association of Florida and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The organizations have stated that they have strong scientific evidence linking Paraquat to Parkinson’s and that the EPA should reconsider its re-approval of its 15 year sale. It’s to be announced how long the review will take, but the groups have agreed to keep the current Paraquat sale rules in place for now until a final decision is made.

September 21, 2022: Paraquat victims suing Chevron Corp for causing them to develop Parkinson’s Disease after being exposed to the herbicide Paraquat have asked a Federal Judge to sanction the company’s lawyers for coaching an expert witness during a deposition. In a motion filed Tuesday in Illinois federal court, lawyers for the Plaintiffs said that Jones Day partner Sharyl Reisman instructed the witness, former Chevron toxicologist, not to answer questions and conferred with him during breaks. They said these “improper communications” warranted monetary sanctions against the firm, as well as another chance to depose the toxicologist.

September 19, 2022: New research out of UCLA raises concerns about thyroid cancer risks related to the use of certain pesticides in California. A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism linked the use of herbicides paraquat dichloride, glyphosate and oxyfluorfen to thyroid cancer diagnoses between 1999 and 2012 in several California counties.

August 15, 2022: The number of new cases to join the Paraquat MDL this month was the highest since the start of the Paraquat Parkinson’s class action lawsuit. In total 255 new cases were transferred into the MDL, bringing the total to 1,703.

May 2022: The defendants in the Roundup trial suffered a loss this month that will positively impact the outcome of the victims in the Paraquat trial. In the Roundup trial, the defendants had submitted a appeal to the Supreme Court that argued the Roundup cancer lawsuits had been approved by federal law.In the response from the Biden administration, they urged the courts to drop this argument and replied that “approval of labeling that does not warn about chronic risks does not by itself preempt a state-law requirement.” This was a blow to those defending Roundup and also Paraquat since this is also a pesticide governed by the same federal law.

February 2022: A Federal Judge assigned to oversee the Paraquat multi-district lawsuit, Judge Rosenstengel, allowed those representing Paraquat victims to receive transcripts of prior depositions from a state case in which a settlement was reached for the victim.

The release of the previously kept confidential settlement amount is a victory for other victims going to trial against the Syngenta and Growmark. All of this information can be used in the Paraquat multidistrict litigation during settlement negotiations.

WHO MANUFACTURES PARAQUAT?

Paraquat has been manufactured by two main entities of the past 50 years. Sygnenta has produced Paraquat under the corporate entities that include Imperial Chemical Industries, Zeneca Group, AstraZeneca, Syngenta AG and Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC. Chevron has also produced Paraquat under the corporate entities that include Chevron USA, Chevron Chemical Company, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, LP.

DOES PARAQUAT CAUSE PARKINSON’S DISEASE?

Recent studies in the medical literature have shown that Paraquat causes cell death through oxidative stress. The chemical undergoes redox cycling when exposed to oxygen within living cells and this redox cycling creates reactive oxygen species, which then causes a cascading chemical reaction that damages cellular structures and ultimately kills cells. One study found that those with a specific genetic variation that used Paraquat on crops were at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

One of the major causes of Parkinson’s Disease is the loss of function in the dopamine neurons in a small region of the brain called the substantia nigra pars compacta. These dopamine neurons are highly vulnerable to oxidative stress. Parkinson’s disease is an incurable and debilitating progressive nervous system disorder. Two separate studies in 2017 and 2018 demonstrated the causal mechanism between Paraquat exposure and cell death in the substantia nigra pars compacta.

In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a regulatory filing on Paraquat products and its potential health risks. The agency expressed its intention to examine the potential link between Paraquat exposure and Parkinson’s disease, as part of a program that reevaluates herbicides every 15 years.

It is well established that exposure to dangerous products like the chemical Paraquat can be extremely harmful to humans. According to a letter from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to the EPA, scientific studies and Parkinson’s research has shown that people exposed to the toxic chemical Paraquat while they were teens or young adults were between 200 and 600 percent more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. The Agricultural Health Study by the National Institutes of Health found that farmers had a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and adverse health effects due to Paraquat exposure.

Since paraquat is highly restricted, most people at risk for exposure and direct contact are those who apply, mix, or load the weed killer, including:

Farmers and farmworkers;
Agriculture workers;
Crop dusters;
Herbicide applicators;
Chemical mixers;
Tank fillers

In addition to developing Parkinson’s Disease or Parkinson’s-like symptoms, chronic exposure to this dangerous chemical through inhalation can cause Paraquat poisoning leading to lung damage, kidney failure, heart failure, liver failure, respiratory failure and esophageal strictures. Parkinson’s disease has four main common symptoms:

Tremor in hands, arms, legs, jaw, or head
Muscle stiffness, where muscle remains contracted for a long time
Slow movements
Impaired balance, loss of balance and coordination, sometimes leading to falls

Some other Parkinson’s Disease symptoms include the loss of smell and the loss of facial expressions.

AM I ELIGIBLE TO FILE A PARAQUAT PARKINSON’S DISEASE CLAIM?

If you have been exposed to Paraquat, the active ingredient in the herbicide Gramaxone, and have either been (1) diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease or (2) are experiencing Parkinson’s Disease symptoms you may be eligible to take legal action and file a legal claim to join the Paraquat MDL (multi-district litigation) today to hold the manufacturers and companies accountable. Approximately 40% of those exposed to Paraquat were first exposed to the herbicide in the 1960’s and 1970’s. To join, you will generally need to be able to demonstrate that you were exposed to the product for more than 20 days to join the legal process. Oftentimes, those exposed to the weed killer were agricultural workers, pesticide applicators or herbicide applicators and maintained an applicators license to purchase and apply the restricted-use herbicide. The majority of claimants with exposure to Paraquat and Parkinson’s Disease or symptoms have been prescribed the drug Levodopa as treatment.

While no state has been immune from Paraquat exposure, the State’s with the highest exposure and greatest use of Paraquat products include those with the most farm workers: South Carolina, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Louisiana, California, Florida, Texas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Montana, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, Iowa, Virginia, Indiana, West Virginia.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO FILE A PARAQUAT CLAIM?

At Marin and Barrett, Inc. we firmly believe that the client’s needs come above all else and have established a fully transparent fee structure to reflect that. We work on these dangerous herbicide cases a strictly contingency fee basis, meaning that we do not receive anything from you unless we are able to recover money either by settlement or verdict. Regardless of what type of case you have or what is required, you will know everything up front with no surprises. We shoulder the costs of the filing and litigation on your behalf and at no risk to you.

Call our Paraquat lawsuit attorneys Marin and Barrett, Inc. today (888) 348-2735 to schedule your free consultation, it only takes a few moments and there is no obligation.

If you or a loved one developed serious medical problems including Parkinson’s Disease after being exposed to Paraquat you may be entitled to financial compensation. Talk to a personal injury lawyer Marin and Barrett, Inc. today at (888) 348-2735. The call and consultation are free and confidential.

PARAQUAT PARKINSON’S lawsuit attorneys

The herbicide and pesticide industry is an international financial powerhouse and is expected to grow to nearly $38 billion in annual revenue by 2025. Do not go it alone, let us fight them for you to get the compensation you rightfully deserve. Our product liability lawyers utilize our legal experience hand in hand with some of the most experienced and respected attorneys nationwide and have the resources your case needs to stand toe to toe with corporate giants. Most of our Paraquat clients suffered from health issues after agricultural industry occupational exposure or environmental exposure to Paraquat products and Paraquat poisoning.

Call our legal team of Paraquat lawsuit lawyers Marin and Barrett, Inc. today (888) 348-2735 to schedule your free consultation and obtain legal representation, it only takes a few moments and there is no obligation. We can help gather your medical records, medical expenses and begin putting a Paraquat Parkinson’s Disease lawsuit together on your behalf and get your case consolidated with the other Federal lawsuits in the Paraquat MDL. Any Paraquat settlement should allow those suffering from the harmful effects of exposure to a Paraquat product to recover financial compensation and ensure an improved quality of life for the victims. Additionally, the experienced Paraquat lawyer that ultimately takes on your case will seek punitive damages to deter future harmful conduct by the makers of dangerous products like the Paraquat weed killer.