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Español Paraquat Herbicide Linked to Parkinson’s Disease
- Did you or a loved one work with or around the Paraquat herbicide?
- Were you or your loved one diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) after your exposure to the Paraquat herbicide?
- You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries.
Parkinson’s Disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects the part of the brain controlling movement. There is no test to know for certain if you have the disease.
If you have symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease:
Tremors • Stiffness • Poor Balance • Difficulty Sleeping
Blank or Sad Facial Expression • Depression • Dementia
Please contact a healthcare expert to discuss your condition.
What is Paraquat?
Paraquat is the common name of an organic chloride salt. Paraquat’s chemical name is methyl viologen dichloride.
Paraquat is manufactured as an herbicide to kill unwanted plants and grasses.
Paraquat is made and sold most commonly under the name Gramoxone.
It is also marketed under various other names, including:
| Blanco | Bonedry | Cropoquat | Cyclone |
| Crysquat | Delta-quat | Dextrone X | Erazone |
| Firestorm | Goldquat | Gramex | Granafin |
| Halexone | Herbatop | Herbikill | Inferno |
| Kapid | Katalon | Kingxone | Multiquat |
| Nuquat | Osaquat | Paranox | Para-Shot |
| Paratroop | Parazone | Prelude | Quick-Quat |
| R-Bix | Revolver | Scythe | Shirquat |
| Sunaquat | Total | Toxer | Weedless |
Paraquat is extremely toxic.
Although it is directed towards weeds, Paraquat is non-selective and quick-acting, meaning it will kill most green plant tissue upon contact. Plants will start to yellow within hours of spraying it.
Paraquat is also poisonous to humans and animals.1
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there is no cure or antidote to Paraquat poisoning.2
Paraquat is so toxic that its manufacturers have a 24-hour emergency hotline for health problems caused by their product.3
In America, people need a license just to spray Paraquat. Drinking the herbicide is almost always fatal.
If you or someone you know has been injured or impacted by Paraquat, contact Amber Pang Parra for a free consultation at (855) 452-5529 or pharma@justinian.com.
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Multiple health studies have found a link between Paraquat and Parkinson’s Disease.
Health studies have shown that Paraquat (Methyl Viologen) is linked to the development of Parkinson’s disease, a long-term degenerative disorder of the nervous system.
In fact because of its connection to Parkinson’s, many countries have banned the use of Paraquat.
However, Paraquat is still available and widely-used in the United States.
The toxic herbicide Paraquat is one of the most widely used weed killers worldwide.4
Health studies show the connection between Paraquat and Parkinson’s:
- More than twenty years ago, reports of a link between herbicides and the development of Parkinson’s led researchers to discover that Paraquat can cause Parkinson’s type brain lesions in mice.5
“Farming, rural living, well water drinking, and exposure to agricultural chemicals are all conditions that have been associated with an increased risk for Parkinson’s Disease, and paraquat is the pesticide that has most often been implicated as a potential neurotoxicant in Parkinson’s.”6
- Ten years ago, the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) conducted a large-scale study of Parkinson’s in southern and midwestern farming families, and the herbicides and pesticides that they had used.
In 2010, the National Institute of Health study found a link between herbicides containing paraquat and the development of Parkinson’s Disease.7
Paraquat is a potent toxin that kills plants by limiting photosynthesis. Scientists are still studying all the ways that Paraquat can affect living organisms.
Paraquat exposure can cause cellular senescence (stopping of cellular division), a phenomenon which is associated with Parkinson’s Disease. This may help explain the growing body of research finding a connection between paraquat and Parkinson’s.8
What is Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson’s Disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects the part of the brain controlling movement.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder. It mostly affects the brain and the body’s motion.
Parkinson’s is degenerative, meaning it gets worse over time. Parkinson’s symptoms may not be severe or noticeable at first.
But symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease are easier to see as the condition develops:
Rigidity / Slow Movement
People with Parkinson’s often feel stiffness in their back, neck and limbs. This can make it difficult for them to move around.
Tremors / Shaking
Parkinson’s is frequently associated with slight shaking or tremors in the arms, hands, feet, chin and mouth. Often the limb will shake even while the person is resting and not using it.
Unsteadiness / Imbalance
Many people with Parkinson’s feel unbalanced while walking or moving.
They are at a particular danger for falling and harming themselves.
Take caution if someone is feeling unsteady.
Unusual Facial Expressions
Parkinson’s can affect facial expressions, giving a person:
- A blank stare
- An angry expression
- A depressed or upset expression
Vocal changes / Slurred Speech
Parkinson’s often affects a person’s speech. In the early stages, it may just be a softening of the voice. In later stages, a person with Parkinson’s may sound:
- Slurred
- Hoarse
- Unemotional
Difficulty Sleeping
Parkinson’s patients often report an inability to get a night’s rest.
People with Parkinson’s may have involuntary bodily movements while sleeping and wake themselves up.
Parkinson’s Disease vs. “Old Age”
It can be difficult to tell if a person has Parkinson’s Disease:
There is no test to know for certain if you have Parkinson’s Disease.
Many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s overlap with conditions associated with aging:
- Unsteadiness is common among many older people. (One difference: tremors from Parkinson’s often occur even while a person’s body or limb is resting.)
- Stiffness is also a symptom of arthritis, which often develops with aging.
- Difficulty sleeping may be insomnia, or a side effect of medication. (But a regular inability to sleep or awakening from sudden movements may indicate Parkinson’s.)
- Depression is common among aging people. Mortality and regret can be difficult subjects for anyone to consider.
If you have symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease:
Tremors • Stiffness • Poor Balance • Difficulty Sleeping
Blank or Sad Facial Expression • Depression • Dementia
Please contact a healthcare expert to discuss your condition.
Lawsuits for Parkinson’s Disease caused by Paraquat exposure.
Numerous, high-level scientific studies have found a significant connection between paraquat exposure and the development of Parkinson’s Disease.
When people are injured by a dangerous product they purchased or used, the victims can often win money judgments for their injuries in lawsuits against the dangerous product’s manufacturers and distributors.
Manufacturers and Distributors often must pay for harm caused by their dangerous products.
Under Federal and Texas state civil laws, a person or company is legally responsible for harm they cause if they are acting:
Negligently
Negligence is the legal term for carelessness. Manufacturers must be cautious and careful enough in researching their product to understand its dangers before putting them on the market.
Recklessly
Reckless means a person understands their behavior is very risky and may hurt others but ignores the risk.
Manufacturers with doubts about their products based on reports from consumers or health providers sometimes still choose to take the risk and pushed to sell them anyway.
Note: There were many different manufacturers and distributors of many types of Paraquat. Each case is different, and if you believe Paraquat use contributed to your Parkinson’s Disease, speak to a personal injury lawyer.
Intentionally
People and companies are responsible for actions and behavior they do on purpose.
In the worst cases, some companies actually know of a medication’s danger and hide the information to have the medication approved or marketed.
A person injured by a dangerous product can often recover financial compensation for:
- Medical Bills (including ongoing care)
- Lost Wages
- Anguish and Trauma
Someone who is injured can file a tort lawsuit. If many people have been injured by the same medication, they can combine their lawsuits into a mass tort lawsuit.
But winning a dangerous product personal injury lawsuit can be complex.
It can include investigating medical studies, corporate publications and using testimony from experts on how the medication caused an injury. This is not easily done, particularly when drug companies show up with an army of lawyers.
If you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and were exposed to Paraquat, speak to a Texas personal injury attorney with experience in dangerous products and mass tort law.
A Texas Personal Injury Law Firm That Knows What You’re Up Against
Justinian & Associates Has Always Helped People Who Were Injured By Dangerous Products.
Personal injury lawsuits involving dangerous products like drug prescriptions, or chemicals like Agent Orange or Paraquat are typically more complicated than the average fender-bender.
Paraquat Injury Lawsuits Can Be Very Complex to Prove
Winning a mass tort lawsuit for injuries caused by a dangerous chemical like paraquat usually involves proving that the manufacturers did not properly warn people taking it of the potential risks.
That can include investigating medical studies, corporate publications and using testimony from experts on how the medication caused an injury.
A lawsuit for Paraquat may involve getting historical data to prove how an injured victim was exposed.
Showing how a product caused an injury can require legal and scientific expertise which many Texas personal injury attorneys simply do not have.
Your lawsuit for Parkinson’s injuries brought on by Paraquat exposure may be combined with other lawsuits against Paraquat manufacturers or distributors.
Cases involving dangerous products are often combined into a larger lawsuit like a class-action lawsuit or a mass tort lawsuit.
These cases often involve tens of thousands of injured consumers, and courts may look at all the cases at once. These types of lawsuits are known as mass torts.
Justinian & Associates has focused on mass torts involving dangerous products since we were founded. We have successfully represented many victims harmed by large chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
In fact, attorneys at Justinian & Associates are sometimes assigned by the court to organize and present the law and facts of the case on behalf of thousands of clients in mass tort cases
All of this is not easily done, particularly when drug companies show up with an army of lawyers.
But battling bullies is what Justinian & Associates does best.
We Are Warriors For The Injured
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was exposed to herbicide or pesticide containing paraquat, now is the time to seek legal assistance.
You need experienced attorneys on your side.
Our Texas and San Antonio mass tort lawyers have successfully represented dozens of victims injured by dangerous pharmaceuticals and other hazardous substances. That’s exactly why we were founded.
The legal team at Justinian and Associates has years of experience dealing with personal injury cases like Paraquat.
We have the knowledge, experience, resources and trained investigators to take on large adversaries like billion dollar pharmaceutical companies.
All we do is fight for injured victims.
Our only goal is justice for our clients, whatever that means for them.
And we do not accept defeat.
Unless we get you money for your injuries, you don’t pay us a dime.
The Time to Act is Now
Your rights can be lost if you wait.
There are laws that limit how much time you have to file a lawsuit after being injured. They are known as statutes of limitation. They may apply to your lawsuit to recover for your Paraquat injuries. The countdown may already have begun. The statute of limitations (how long you have to file a case) may already be counting down. Don’t let it expire!
Call, text or email us for a free consultation, with no obligation. Speak to a Texas personal injury attorney from Justinian & Associates (not a “screener” or paralegal) to understand your rights.
[1] Paraquat: Preliminary Ecological Risk Assessment for Registration Review, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(Oct. 2019).
[2] U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Paraquat Facts.
[3] Syngenta corporate website, Press Release on Paraquat.
[4] U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Paraquat Facts.
[5] The Herbicide Paraquat Causes Up-regulation and Aggregation of α-Synuclein in Mice: PARAQUAT AND α-SYNUCLEIN, Amy B. Manning Bog Alison L. McCormack, Jie Li, Vladimir N. Uversky, Anthony L. Fink, Donato A. Di Monte, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2002).
[6] The Herbicide Paraquat Causes Up-regulation and Aggregation of α-Synuclein in Mice: PARAQUAT AND α-SYNUCLEIN, Amy B. Manning Bog Alison L. McCormack, Jie Li, Vladimir N. Uversky, Anthony L. Fink, Donato A. Di Monte, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2002).
[7] Two pesticides — rotenone and paraquat — linked to Parkinson’s disease, study suggests, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (February 15, 2011).
[8] Cellular Senescence Is Induced by the Environmental Neurotoxin Paraquat and Contributes to Neuropathology Linked to Parkinson’s Disease, Shankar J.Chinta, GeorgiaWoods, MarcoDemaria, AnandRane, YingZou, Amanda McQuade, Subramanian Rajagopalan, Chandani Limbad, David T. Madden, Judith Campisi Julie K. Andersen, Cell Reports (Jan. 23, 2018).
