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How Can You Handle Paraquat Lawsuits?  

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Paraquat is an herbicide that has been used regularly in agriculture for decades due to its effectiveness, but it comes with a high price tag. Paraquat exposure can cause severe health issues and even death.

Victims of exposure and their families may be eligible for compensation through a paraquat lawsuit. This article highlights the aspects you need to know about who qualifies to file paraquat lawsuits, where you can file one, and how to get started on the process.

When ingested or inhaled, this ingredient causes damage to lungs, kidneys, and other organs, resulting in poisoning and often death.

What is Paraquat?

Paraquat is a highly toxic chemical used as a herbicide to kill weeds and grass in the agricultural, industrial and residential industries. In the United States, it’s one of the most widely used herbicides for weed control.

Paraquats can be dangerous to humans, animals, plants, and insects. When individuals get exposed to it through ingestion or inhalation, it can cause serious health problems.

General Information About Paraquat

Over time, the use of paraquat to kill weeds has increased. It is the most commonly used herbicide in the U.S., used chiefly on soybeans and wheat. Paraquat can be sprayed directly on crops to dry them out before they start harvesting.

It’s also sprayed on other crops like cotton and wheat to destroy weeds growing between plants or along roadsides. The chemical is available in many forms. It can include liquid, granules, and pellets.

What you should know about paraquat:

  • Paraquat is a toxic herbicide
  • Paraquat has been banned in Europe but not yet banned in the U.S.
  • The most widely used herbicide in America

Illnesses Associated With Paraquat Use

Paraquat can cause several serious illnesses, some of which can result in death. The most common diseases associated with paraquat are Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and depression.

Not sure what these illnesses are? Read on to learn more about the symptoms of each.

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects your brain and nervous system. People who have it have trouble controlling their movements or emotions. Symptoms can include

  • Tremors (shaking) of hands or other parts of the body
  • Slowness in moving around
  • Trouble walking or balancing
  • Loss of balance
  • Stiffness in arms, legs, neck, or face
  • Small handwriting
  • Problems speaking clearly or swallowing food.

It’s also common for people to experience a change in moods when they first develop Parkinson’s disease. They may feel depressed and anxious at times because they become concerned about how the illness will affect their lives.

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that causes memory problems and changes in behavior over time. It happens as neurons (brain cells) die from damage caused by amyloid plaques forming around them.

The activity triggers as they can not absorb nutrients for energy production through your blood vessels as normal functioning ones do without any blockage. It results in the further progression leading to death if not treated. There is no cure available currently known yet.

Who Is at Highest Risk for Paraquat Exposure?

Farm

Farm

If you’ve got exposed to paraquat and are suffering from any indicated symptoms, you might be eligible to file a lawsuit. To qualify, however, you will need to meet two critical criteria:

  • You must have suffered significant physical injury or harm due to your exposure.
  • You must have got exposed in one of three ways: either through direct application of paraquat, occupational exposure (i.e., if you worked with it), or environmental exposure (if you lived near an area that got treated with it).

Paraquat Lawsuit Options for Victims

You or your loved one has two options while filing a lawsuit. You can file in state or federal court, but you cannot do both.

Whether you choose a state or federal court, there are time limits you must meet. These are called “statutes of limitations.” If you do not meet the deadlines set by these laws, you may not be able to pursue financial compensation for your health struggles and losses.

You have other decisions to make as well about your lawsuit:

Who Will I Sue? 

The herbicide manufacturer is likely to be named a defendant in a paraquat lawsuit. However, others can also potentially bear some responsibility for the injuries sustained by farmers.

These can include sellers of the product and manufacturers of safety equipment who failed to warn customers about the dangers of handling this chemical. In cases involving exposure at work, it is possible to name the employer among the defendants.

Will I Sue Alone? 

Many attorneys file class-action lawsuits for thousands of complaints against one company. It includes those currently being pursued to move forward quickly and efficiently through the legal process.

They do this on behalf of numerous clients who have suffered similar damages from using paraquat. Many others seek individual settlements with paraquat manufacturers outside of this type of legal proceeding.

Entitled to Compensation

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after being exposed to paraquat, you may be entitled to compensation. The manufacturer of a dangerous chemical can be held responsible for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

It can happen under different scenarios, such as when the manufacturer knew about the dangers but failed to warn consumers. Also, if the company committed fraud or actively misled regulators about health risks associated with its product, it may be liable for punitive damages.

In many cases of mass tort litigation, such as in the case of glyphosate exposure lawsuits, victims can file individual lawsuits against the manufacturer as part of a class-action lawsuit. This type of lawsuit allows many individuals who have suffered similar harm from a defective product or dangerous drug to pool their resources and fight one common defendant together in court.

If you got injured by paraquat exposure, you might want to consider seeking legal counsel. A personal injury attorney can help determine whether there is a valid claim and assist with filing the necessary paperwork in court.

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