Paraquat Bellwether Trials Focus On Farmers Who Used The Weedkiller And Developed Parkinson's Disease

Cases, where the plaintiffs lived near farms that sprayed paraquat, seem to have been excluded from the bellwether trials

Wednesday, May 4, 2022 - Paraquat multidistrict litigation (MDL) is moving into the home stretch as six strikingly similar cases have been selected for final discovery to arrive at four cases that will go to trial later in 2022. At first glance, I was surprised to see that the cases that attorneys from both sides selected for bellwether purposes were limited to plaintiffs that used or were exposed to paraquat while working with the deadly defoliant. What were excluded were cases where the plaintiffs lived near farms that sprayed paraquat. Six, according to a report by About Lawsuits.com, stated that all six plaintiffs developed paraquat Parkinson'sdisease, a deadly, progressive, and fatal neurological condition affecting the brain's ability to govern motor coordination, memory, and other vital activities. Studies indicate that inhaling paraquat fumes repeatedly and in low doses, enters the olfactory system and destroys the brain's ability to produce dopamine, a chemical essential for communication between brain cells. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denies that there is a link between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease.

Nearly 1000 paraquat lawsuits are registered against Syngenta and Chevron in the MDL with the majority of them, according to the case selection, having listed Parkinson's disease as the personal injury they were suffering from. Legal experts think that the 1000 paraquat Parkinson's disease cases that have come forward to date may represent only a small proportion of those who have been affected. Should the November 2022 and 2023 trials yield substantial jury awards for plaintiffs, thousands of more cases may be encouraged to come forward. More than 125,000 glyphosate trials, an agricultural weed killer similar to but less toxic than paraquat, yielded more than 125000 plaintiffs against Monsanto and by default, their parent company German Life Sciences conglomerate Bayer AG. After seeing the results of only three bellwether trials in which juries awarded hundreds of millions of dollars, Bayer settled the cases for about $12 billion in total. Experts also think the $10-12 billion range may be a good starting point for potential paraquat settlements. The MDL is being presided over by U.S. District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel in the Southern District of Illinois. According to AL, "A final pre-trial conference is currently scheduled to take place on October 27, with an individual Paraquat jury trial set to begin on November 15, 2022, March 13, 2023, June 12, 2023, and September 18, 2023."

Paraquat has long been suspected of causing Parkinson's disease despite the EPA's denial. The EPA has repeatedly added restrictions to using paraquat including having to be a license to buy or apply the defoliant. Other restrictions pertain to mixing and more importantly storing the leftover chemical since hundreds of deaths have been reported worldwide from accidentally drinking paraquat that looked like it was merely a soft drink. As the saying goes, only one small sip of paraquat is all that is needed to cause instant death.

Lawyers for Paraquat Lawsuits

Attorneys handling Paraquat Lawsuits for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma offer free, no-obligation case review for individuals and families who believe they may have grounds to file a paraquat Parkinson's lawsuit. Working on a contingency basis, these attorneys are committed to never charging legal fees unless they win compensation in your paraquat Parkinson's lawsuit. The product liability litigators handling Roundup claims at the Onder Law Firm have a strong track record of success in representing families harmed by dangerous drugs and consumer products.