Parkinson’s Disease Lawsuit Filed Over Paraquat Herbicide Exposure as Crop Duster

Irvin Jackson

Add Your Comments

A product liability lawsuit has been filed against Syngenta, Chevron and other herbicide manufacturers over failure to disclose information about the link between Parkinson’s disease and paraquat exposure, indicating that a former crop duster developed the severe brain disorder after years of spraying the toxic weed and grass killer.

Paraquat has been on the market for decades, although the controversial herbicide is known to be toxic and pose serious health risks. Although it has been known exposure may lead to paraquat poisoning, increasing evidence published in recent years has suggested individuals exposed to the herbicide are more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, which is a chronic and progressive condition that causes shaking, stiffness, difficulty walking and other debilitating symptoms that get worse over time.

In a complaint (PDF) filed late last year in Illinois state court, Michael Joseph Kearns and his wife present claims against a number of manufacturers of paraquat-based herbicides, alleging that exposure as a crop duster between 1964 and the early 1980s resulted in his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in November 2019.

PARAQUAT Parkinson’s Lawsuits

Were you or a loved one exposed to Paraquat?

Lawyers are reviewing Paraquat lawsuits for individuals who were exposed to Paraquat and developed Parkinson’s disease.

Learn More
SEE IF YOU QUALIFY FOR COMPENSATION

PARAQUAT Parkinson’s Lawsuits

Were you or a loved one exposed to Paraquat?

Lawyers are reviewing Paraquat lawsuits for individuals who were exposed to Paraquat and developed Parkinson’s disease.

Learn More
SEE IF YOU QUALIFY FOR COMPENSATION

Kearns was repeatedly exposed to paraquat that was inhaled, ingested or absorbed through his skin while spraying the herbicide as a crop duster in Wisconsin and Illinois.

“No doctor or any other person told Plaintiff Michael Joseph Kearns before November 25, 2019, that his Parkinson’s disease was or could have been caused by exposure to paraquat,” the lawsuit states. “At no time when using paraquat himself was Plaintiff Michael Joseph Kearns aware that exposure to paraquat could cause any latent injury, including any neurological injury or Parkinson’s disease, or that any precautions were necessary to prevent any latent injury that could be caused by exposure to paraquat.”

The lawsuit comes as a growing number of studies in recent years have highlighted the potential Parkinson’s disease risks from paraquat herbicides, suggesting that individuals may face risks from handling, transporting, mixing or applying the grass and weed killer, even when safety precautions provided by the manufacturers are followed.

Irvin Jackson
Written by: Irvin Jackson

Senior Legal Journalist & Contributing Editor

Irvin Jackson is a senior investigative reporter at AboutLawsuits.com with more than 30 years of experience covering mass tort litigation, environmental policy, and consumer safety. He previously served as Associate Editor at Inside the EPA and contributes original reporting on product liability lawsuits, regulatory failures, and nationwide litigation trends.

Tags: Crop Dusting, Herbicide, Paraquat, Parkinsons Disease, Syngenta, Weed Killer

More Paraquat Lawsuit Stories

7 Comments

Michael
Are there any kind of records keeping for crop dusting that were spraying paraquat mid 60s
Janice
Writing on behalf of my husband who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. We lived in a subdivision where our house backed up to a cotton field that was sprayed by crop dusters with poison serval times a year. Also a ditch between the field and our backyard that was covered in kudzu was sprayed with poison. We lived there for 10 years of spraying! Could someone please contact us? Thank you.
Charlotte
I am writing in on behave of my Mother who is developing Parkinson’s due to being exposed to crop dusting in Mississippi
Tina
Brother has been exposed to crop dusting & now has cancer, not Parkinson’s, but still cancer. Several of his neighbors have died from or has cancer now. What can be done?
LYNN
we lived in rural locations of both Kosciusko and Marshall Counties in Indiana for over 35 years and were repeatedly exposed to drift from the spraying by crop dusters and/or farmers spraying their fields. I developed Parkinson’s Disease approximately 26 years ago.
Angelica
My dad working in a sugar mill and now has Parkinson’s. This makes me wonder if it had to do with the planes that flew overhead spraying the corn and cane.
JOann
writting on behalf of my father he has parkinsons worked in agricultual and chemicals for more then 40 years

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Share Your Comments

This field is hidden when viewing the form
I authorize the above comments be posted on this page
Post Comment
Weekly Digest Opt-In

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

MORE TOP STORIES

Judge Says Suboxone 'Schedule A' Lawsuits Should Be Filed Individually or Dismissed
Two years after allowing thousands of incomplete Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits to be submitted due to statutes of limitation laws, a federal judge says those cases should be filed individually or dismissed.
JPML Sets Hearing Over Spinal Cord Stimulator Lawsuit Consolidation For May 28
In late May, a panel of federal judges will hold oral arguments over whether all federal spinal cord stimulator lawsuits should be consolidated before one judge for pretrial proceedings.
Fire Pit Burn Lawsuits Mount as CPSC Issues Warning Over New Flame Jetting Injuries, Death
As the number of lawsuits over tabletop fire pits continues to grow, the CPSC has issued a warning indicating that despite a consumer’s death linked to one product, the manufacturer has not agreed to remove the devices from the market.