Paraquat Lawsuit Update 2024

In April 2024, a federal judge made a significant ruling impacting lawsuits alleging that Syngenta's herbicide paraquat is linked to Parkinson's disease. The judge, Nancy Rosenstengel, dismissed the first four cases scheduled for trial due to the inability of a key expert witness to testify.

Legal representatives for agricultural workers, who are suing Syngenta and Chevron for their alleged role in paraquat exposure, had pinned their hopes on Cornell University professor Martin Wells. He was expected to provide testimony suggesting a causal relationship between occupational exposure to paraquat and the development of Parkinson's disease. However, Judge Rosenstengel deemed Wells' testimony inadmissible, effectively halting the trials.

Paraquat Lawsuit Update 2024

It's essential to note that this ruling only affects the initial batch of cases and doesn't directly impact the thousands of other cases consolidated in Rosenstengel's court in East St. Louis, Illinois. The judge has instructed both parties to propose a new set of cases for trial, offering the plaintiffs an opportunity to present a different expert witness.

Judge Rosenstengel justified her decision to exclude Wells' testimony by criticizing his data analysis as "unscientific cherry-picking" and highlighting the lack of independent validation for his theories within the scientific community.

Despite the setback, lead attorneys representing the plaintiffs expressed their intent to appeal the ruling and expressed optimism about pursuing justice for the numerous farmworkers affected by paraquat exposure.

On the defendants' side, both Syngenta and Chevron continue to maintain their stance, denying any causal link between paraquat and Parkinson's disease. They cite decades of scientific research to support their position.

Beyond the federal cases, several hundred paraquat lawsuits are pending in state courts, primarily in California, with the possibility of state trials commencing later this year.

The paraquat litigation has garnered significant attention within the legal sphere, particularly due to extensive advertising efforts by plaintiffs' attorneys. Cases were centralized before Judge Rosenstengel in June 2021, marking a pivotal moment in the legal battle surrounding paraquat.

The case, formally known as In re: Paraquat Products Liability Litigation, is being adjudicated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois under case number 3:21-md-3004.

Paraquat Lawsuit Update 2024

There are now over 5,500 cases pending in the Paraquat MDL.  Do you feel like your case should be added?  Time is limited, so contact us today.