{"id":8470,"date":"2021-07-06T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T16:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10028\/uncategorized\/paraquat-herbicide-poisoning-have-you-been-affected\/"},"modified":"2022-08-18T21:16:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T01:16:07","slug":"paraquat-herbicide-poisoning-have-you-been-affected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/article\/paraquat-herbicide-poisoning-have-you-been-affected\/","title":{"rendered":"Paraquat Herbicide Poisoning: Have You Been Affected?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paraquat is a widely used herbicide often sold under popular brand names such as Gramoxone, Parazone, and Firestorm. This chemical compound is so toxic that the US supply has a distinct blue color, an unpleasant odor, a vomit-inducing additive, and is only available to licensed users. Introduced in 1961, it\u2019s still one of the most commonly used herbicides today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, the use of Paraquat has led to a number of severe and sometimes deadly consequences. Here\u2019s what you need to know if you\u2019ve been affected by Paraquat poisoning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_Bgwgiqlujg\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paraquat Risk<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People who work outside of the agriculture industry might not think they\u2019ll ever need to file a paraquat lawsuit. However, the risk from this ubiquitous chemical extends beyond those who are licensed to spray it on crops<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson\u2019s disease, and those who live close enough to farms that use it have an increased risk of developing this degenerative neurological condition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The three routes of toxic paraquat exposure that can lead to health problems are ingestion, inhalation, and exposure through the skin. Ingestion of contaminated food and beverage is the most common type of paraquat poisoning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational exposure via agriculture is the highest source of risk, but even people who are not farm workers, herbicide handlers, or produce transporters may still be vulnerable to the herbicide\u2019s damage and subsequently need the help of a <\/span><a href=\"\/practice-areas\/environmental-litigation\/nationwide-paraquat-parkinsons-disease-lawyers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parkinson\u2019s disease lawyer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evidence and Causes of Paraquat Exposure<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/emergency.cdc.gov\/agent\/paraquat\/basics\/facts.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acute poisoning<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sustained by agriculture workers requires immediate medical attention and carries a high mortality risk. Poisoning has occurred in cases of accidental ingestion of paraquat illegally transported in unmarked beverage containers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ingesting even moderate amounts can result in throat swelling, pain, nausea, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. Dehydration and low blood pressure follow. Within several days to weeks, lung scarring and organ failure can occur, leading to seizures, coma, and possibly death.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Survivors often experience long-term damage to their health.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Less severe exposures can still result in serious illnesses such as Parkinson\u2019s disease. Symptoms include but are not limited to hand tremors, involuntary movements, walking difficulties, impairments in speech, mood and sleep disruptions, and toileting changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paraquat is used for a<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/wssroc.agron.ntu.edu.tw\/note\/Paraquat.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wide variety of crops<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> including soybeans, vegetables, potatoes, cotton, coffee, wheat, apples, oranges, and rice. The EPA has paraquat regulations in place such as restrictions on storage and use locations, but concedes that there is<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/ingredients-used-pesticide-products\/paraquat-dichloride\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">risk of spray drift<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to people in close proximity to treated fields.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prior to 2016, non-certified workers under the supervision of certified applicators could use paraquat. As of 2016 the EPA has changed the regulations to require that only certified personnel use the chemical. Prior to this time, many farm workers used paraquat without proper training or knowledge of its level of risk.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paraquat Lawsuits &amp; Legal Options<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dtnpf.com\/agriculture\/web\/ag\/crops\/article\/2021\/05\/20\/legal-challenges-grow-paraquats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agriculture workers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are seeking legal representation in increasing numbers over the alleged connection between paraquat and Parkinson\u2019s disease. Paraquat lawsuits are based on the failure of the manufacturer and distributors to warn the public about the consequences of exposure to the herbicide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People who have suffered economic losses from paraquat exposure, such as lost wages and medical bills, are entitled to compensatory damages. Victims who have suffered the significant impacts to quality of life brought about by paraquat poisoning are also entitled to compensation for punitive damages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right legal representation is important for anyone who may have experienced serious illness due to Paraquat exposure. Contact Napoli Shkolnik\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"\/practice-areas\/environmental-litigation\/nationwide-paraquat-parkinsons-disease-lawyers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paraquat attorneys<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for a free case evaluation with an experienced lawyer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paraquat is a widely used herbicide often sold under popular brand names such as Gramoxone, Parazone, and Firestorm. This chemical compound is so toxic that the US supply has a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[775],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-injury"],"acf":[],"page_builder_type":"classic","gutenberg_data":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}