Several hundred consumers recently filed Paraquat lawsuits alleging that the herbicide causes Parkinson’s disease.

On April 30, lawyers filed half a dozen Paraquat lawsuits simultaneously across three states’ federal courts. Plaintiffs in Paraquat lawsuits claim that Syngenta Crop Protection, Syngenta AG, and Chevron USA Inc. failed to warn consumers about the risks associated with Paraquat herbicides. According to the plaintiffs, this widely used but tightly controlled herbicide may cause Parkinson’s disease.

Paraquat is a toxic chemical which used to be widely used to control weed and grass growth. The herbicide can cause acute and toxic poisoning when swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Symptoms of poisoning can range from vomiting to organ failure, causing the substance to be tightly controlled by agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Due to the risks for poisoning, paraquat can only be used by licensed applicators who have been trained in safety measures. According to the EPA, there are no current products able to be purchased by consumers for residential areas.

Although this protects modern consumers from exposure, countless consumers may have been exposed to the herbicide in the past.

Numerous consumers who previously used Paraquat or were exposed to the herbicide have now come forward with legal claims against the manufacturers. According to these plaintiffs, Paraquat exposure can cause Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a is a neurological disorder characterized by shaking, stiffness, and coordination issues. Early in the disease’s progression, symptoms may be mild. However, with time, symptoms become severe and debilitating.

Notable risk factors for Parkinson’s are age, family history, and genetic mutations. According to recent Paraquat lawsuits, exposure to the herbicide is another Parkinson’s risk factor.

Most of the current lawsuits against Syngenta and Chevron were filed only recently, but consumers may have been affected by the problem since the mid-1960s when the companies released Paraquat herbicides. Some of the plaintiffs claim they used Paraquat products from the 1960s to the 1980s, unknowingly exposing themselves to a dangerous chemical.

Now, decades after using the herbicide, certain consumers have allegedly developed “Parkinson’s disease caused by many years of regular, frequent, prolonged exposure to Paraquat from defendants’ Paraquat products,” according to lawsuits against Syngenta and Chevron.

Although the massive wave of Paraquat lawsuits against the manufacturers is a recent development, the link between Parkinson’s and Paraquat dates back much further. In 2011, a National Institute of Health (NIH) study known as the Farming and Movement Evaluation (FAME) first linked the herbicide to the neurological condition. The FAME study found that consumers who used paraquat herbicides were 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s when compared with non-users.

Later studies expanded on this discovery. In 2012, a study by the Parkinson’s Institute showed that Paraquat users with certain genetic risk factors may increase their risks 11-fold by being exposed to Paraquat. In 2018, another study revealed that even low levels of Paraquat exposure can lead to cell damage linked to Parkinson’s.

If you were exposed to Paraquat and later developed Parkinson’s, you may be able to take legal action by joining numerous other plaintiffs in Paraquat lawsuits. Legal action could help recover damages for medical expenses, loss of quality of life, disability, and other injuries.