Updates & timeline for paraquat link to Parkinson's disease

Dear Client,

This is to provide an update on the In Re: Paraquat Products Liability Litigation. As you are likely aware, all cases alleging the development of Parkinson?s Disease from exposure to Paraquat were centralized in federal court in a Multidistrict Litigation before Hon. Nancy J. Rosenstengel in the Southern District of Illinois. As part of the pre-trial proceedings, the defendants challenged the opinions, qualifications, and methodology of the plaintiffs? chosen experts. This is a common practice known as the Daubert standard.

Unfortunately, the Court granted the defendants? motion to exclude the opinions of plaintiffs? general causation medical expert. This expert was prepared to testify that Paraquat can cause Parkinson?s Disease in humans. In a lengthy opinion, the Court ultimately found flaws in the expert?s methodology and work in this matter. The Court ordered that the expert was unable to testify, leaving the plaintiffs without a general causation expert. Because of this, the Court dismissed the first four bellwether cases with prejudice.

This ruling presents difficult challenges for the entire litigation. However, the Plaintiffs? leadership group plans to appeal the decision and is committed to putting forth additional experts. This was a negative for your lawsuit and the thousands of others who developed Parkinson?s Disease from Paraquat exposure, but the litigation has not concluded.

We continue to represent you in this matter and have not closed your file. We will continue fighting on your behalf throughout the appeals process and will continue progressing individual cases as permitted by the Court. Please contact our office with any questions.

Sincerely,

ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION GROUP, P.C.

• August 5, 2021 – Parkinson’s Foundation updated their information about exposure to paraquat and the risk of Parkinson’s disease, announcing that their research strategy involves working to connect and understand the biology behind the disorder, including genetics, neuroscience, and all Parkinson’s symptoms.
• February 3, 2021 – a study published in the medical journal Toxicological Sciences found that paraquat inhalation directly affects the brain, causing the loss of sense of smell in mice, which is one of the early signs of Parkinson’s disease in humans.

• October 2020 - the EPA re-approved paraquat for use in the U.S., and without additional action, paraquat will remain legal for sale and use in the country for the next 15 years.
• June 2020 - a new study published in Environmental Health, examined the relationship between estimated residential exposure to agricultural chemical application and premature mortality from neurodegenerative diseases and found an increased all-cause mortality risk in Parkinson's disease patients with occupational exposure to pesticides, including paraquat.

The EPA conducted a human health risk assessment in which it identified the risks to agricultural workers who apply paraquat or enter fields treated after paraquat application.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program published its protocol for a review of Paraquat dichloride exposure and Parkinson’s disease. The review will attempt to map evidence that associates the herbicide with Parkinson’s disease, based on the many studies that have linked paraquat exposure and the long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.

The Foundation's Unified Parkinson's Advocacy Council sent a letter to the EPA, signed by all members of the council, in advance of the agency’s Paraquat registration review, listing a number of facts that connect paraquat exposure to the development of Parkinson’s disease symptoms and pathology, and concluded by urging the EPA to deny paraquat’s reregistration.

The EPA announced it would be re-evaluating the health risks of paraquat, including the potential link to Parkinson's disease.

The Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology published a review of five case-control studies that revealed a greater risk of Parkinson’s disease in individuals who had experienced exposure to paraquat.

The journal Environmental Health Perspectives in association with the National Institutes of Health, conducted a study showing that individuals who were exposed to the herbicide paraquat - most notable agricultural workers - were 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as a result than those who did not.

New research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology revealed that exposure to paraquat within 1,600 feet of one’s home increased the risk of Parkinson’s disease by a whopping 75 percent.

The EPA announced that the primary route of exposure to paraquat is occupational exposure, including during the mixing, loading, and application, or during post-application processes. The agency further suggested that such exposure is also possible for individuals who live near farms where the herbicide is used.