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— Paraquat · Parkinson’s disease claims

Paraquat Lawsuit: Did This Herbicide Cause Your
Parkinson’s ?

You mixed it, loaded it, and sprayed it. Season after season, the blue-green liquid in the jug with the skull on the label. You wore what they told you to wear and you followed the directions. Then one hand started to shake, and a neurologist said a word that changed everything.

Updated July 31, 2026

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— Eligibility

Who May Qualify for a Paraquat Lawsuit

These claims are about Parkinson’s disease following real, repeated exposure. Here is what participating law firms look for.
You were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
Diagnosed by a physician, usually a neurologist. Related movement disorders may also be reviewed.
You handled paraquat at work
Licensed applicators, mixers and loaders, farmers spraying their own ground, and commercial or aerial application crews.
You worked in fields where it was used
Farm workers, harvest crews and anyone re-entering treated ground. You did not have to hold the sprayer.
You lived close to treated fields
Drift, dust and well water exposure claims are being reviewed. These are harder to document than job exposure, but they are real.
Exposure came before the diagnosis
Parkinson’s develops slowly. Firms look at the years between your exposure and your first symptoms.
You lost a spouse or parent to Parkinson’s
Surviving family and estate representatives may be able to bring a claim. That deadline usually runs from the date of death.

Meeting these guidelines does not mean you have a valid claim. It means a participating law firm is likely to review it. That firm decides on its own whether to take your case. Some claims are turned down, and some recover nothing. Direct2Attorney cannot judge the legal merits of your case, give legal advice, or file anything for you.

Worried that following the label works against you?

It does not. The whole allegation is that the label never mentioned Parkinson’s at all. Doing everything right cannot protect you from a risk nobody told you about.

— Educational

What You Need to Know About Paraquat

Paraquat is one of the most toxic herbicides ever sold. A single swallow can kill an adult, which is why it has always been a restricted-use pesticide. It was never sold in hardware stores. Only certified applicators could buy or use it. Most people exposed were exposed because farming was their job.

It is sold under names including Gramoxone, made by Syngenta and historically distributed in the United States by Chevron. Syngenta has said it will stop producing the herbicide by June 2026. That does not end responsibility for exposure that already happened.

The concern is what it does to the brain. Paraquat causes oxidative stress in cells. Research has focused on the part of the brain that makes dopamine — the same cells that die off in Parkinson’s disease. A widely cited 2011 study reported that people with paraquat exposure had roughly two and a half times the risk of developing Parkinson’s.

Lawsuits allege Syngenta and Chevron knew about this research for decades and never put a neurological warning on the label. The EPA has still not required one.

Banned almost everywhere else

Where it is illegal

Paraquat has been banned in more than 30 countries, including the European Union, China and Brazil. China banned it for domestic use while continuing to own the company that makes it.

It remains legal in the United States. In January 2026 the EPA announced it would review the herbicide’s safety, and several states have introduced bills to ban it.

Who was exposed here

  • Licensed and certified applicators
  • Farmers spraying their own land
  • Mixers, loaders and tank fillers
  • Farm workers re-entering treated fields
  • Commercial and aerial application crews
  • Families living beside sprayed ground

Where the cases stand

There is a settlement framework — but it is not finished
Federal cases are consolidated as MDL 3004 before Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel in the Southern District of Illinois, with 6,651 cases pending as of June 2026. Roughly another thousand are in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In spring 2025 the parties announced a settlement in principle covering thousands of federal claims, and the court has paused proceedings repeatedly since then to let it be finalized.
More than a year later, it still has not been fully signed off. Some plaintiff firms objected to terms. Individual cases have settled along the way, and at least one case remained set for trial this August. Terms are confidential and no court has approved any payment amount.
What that actually means for you
Two things, and they pull in different directions. A framework existing at all is meaningful — it means the defendants are engaged rather than fighting every case to verdict. But a deal that has been almost done for over a year is not money in anyone’s hands. Anyone telling you a paraquat payout is coming shortly is guessing. The figures circulating online, often quoted around $100,000 to $150,000, are third-party projections based on other litigation, not terms anyone has published.
The risk worth knowing about
The central fight in this litigation is scientific causation — whether plaintiffs’ experts can testify that paraquat causes Parkinson’s in people, not just in laboratory models. Syngenta and Chevron have contested that aggressively. In other mass torts, an adverse ruling on expert testimony has ended litigation that had thousands of filed cases. That is part of why a negotiated resolution has appeal for both sides, and it is worth understanding before you decide anything.

⚠️ This page is general information, not medical advice

If you have a tremor that starts at rest, stiffness, slowed movement, a shuffling walk, smaller handwriting, or a change in your sense of smell, ask your doctor about a referral to a movement disorder specialist. Parkinson’s cannot be cured, but treatment started early makes a real difference to how people live with it. That matters more than any lawsuit. Do not change any treatment based on what you read here.

— Compensation

What Compensation May Cover

If a claim succeeds, compensation is meant to cover what a progressive illness costs a family over years. Here is what these claims typically seek.

Care and financial losses

  • Past and future medical bills
  • Medication, which continues for life
  • Physical, occupational and speech therapy
  • Deep brain stimulation and other procedures
  • Home modifications and mobility equipment
  • In-home care or assisted living
  • Lost wages and early retirement

Personal losses

  • Pain and physical suffering
  • Loss of independence
  • Having to give up farming or your trade
  • Emotional distress and depression
  • Loss of enjoyment of everyday life
  • Loss of companionship for a spouse
  • Punitive damages, where a state allows them

What affects the value of a claim

Your medical situation

  • How advanced the Parkinson’s is
  • Your age when you were diagnosed
  • Care and equipment you now need
  • Whether the claim follows a death

Your exposure history

  • How many years you were around it
  • Whether exposure was direct or drift
  • Licensing, employment and purchase records
  • Whether you file in federal or state court
No one can tell you what your claim is worth before reviewing your history, and no one can promise you will recover anything at all. The settlement framework in this litigation is not final, its terms are confidential, and no court has approved any payment amount. Figures circulating online for paraquat claims are third-party projections, not established or approved numbers. Any service that quotes you a guaranteed dollar figure is telling you something it cannot know. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Attorney fees, case costs and medical liens are taken out of any recovery.

— The process

How It Works: 4 Simple Steps

You do not need records, licenses or purchase receipts to start. Tell us what you remember, or call and let someone write it down for you.

STEP 01 01

Tell us what you did

Fill out the short form or call. Your diagnosis, what work you did, and roughly how many years you were around paraquat. It takes about two minutes and costs nothing.

STEP 02 02

A law firm reviews your case

If your situation fits, we connect you with a participating law firm. That firm looks at your case on its own and decides whether to represent you. If it does, you sign an agreement directly with the firm.

STEP 03 03

The firm documents your exposure

Applicator licensing records, employment history, farm and purchase records, and state pesticide application data mapped against where you lived and worked. Plus your medical records.

STEP 04 04

Your claim is filed and pursued

Your case is filed in the federal MDL or an appropriate state court. Your firm keeps you updated as the settlement framework develops. You are never required to accept an offer you do not want.

— WHY PEOPLE TRUST US

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No upfront fees

The review is free. Participating firms work on contingency, so a fee is owed only out of a recovery. No recovery, no attorney fee.

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Firms in this MDL

We connect you with firms handling agricultural chemical claims — ones already inside MDL 3004 and tracking the settlement process.

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Call instead of typing

Tremor makes forms hard. You can give everything over the phone, and a family member is welcome to help.
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What Direct2Attorney is

A legal marketing and referral service. We check whether your situation matches what participating law firms are looking for, and connect you with one of them if it does.

What Direct2Attorney is not

We are not a law firm. We cannot give you legal advice, represent you, or file anything on your behalf. Only a law firm you sign with can do that.

— Free case review

Get Your Free Case Review

If you worked around paraquat and were later diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, find out where you stand. There is no settlement money available yet, and nobody can tell you when there will be — but claims are still being filed and reviewed, and your state’s deadline is running either way. The review takes about two minutes and costs nothing.

— QUESTIONS

Paraquat Lawsuit FAQs

Who qualifies for a paraquat lawsuit?

Participating law firms are generally reviewing claims from people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease who had meaningful exposure to paraquat. That usually means licensed applicators, farmers, farm workers, mixers and loaders, or people who lived or worked close to fields where it was sprayed. Family members may be able to bring a claim on behalf of a loved one who has died.

Is there a paraquat settlement yet?

Not a finished one. A settlement in principle was announced in spring 2025 to resolve thousands of federal claims, and the court has repeatedly paused proceedings while the parties work on it. More than a year later the framework still has not been fully signed off, partly because some plaintiff firms objected to terms. Individual cases have settled along the way. Terms are confidential, no payment schedule has been made public, and no court has approved any amount.

I was a licensed applicator. Does that hurt my claim?

No. Paraquat is a restricted-use pesticide, so licensed and certified applicators are exactly who handled it. Being trained and following the label does not defeat a claim. The core allegation is that the warnings themselves never mentioned Parkinson’s disease, so no amount of care could have protected against a risk nobody disclosed.

I never sprayed it, I just lived nearby. Can I file?

Possibly. Claims have been brought by people who lived or worked near treated fields and were exposed through spray drift, contaminated dust or well water. Bystander claims are generally harder to prove than occupational ones because exposure is harder to document, but they are being reviewed. What matters is how close you were, for how long, and what can be shown from state pesticide application records.

How long do I have to file a paraquat claim?

Deadlines vary by state, commonly one to six years, and in many states the clock starts when you learned your illness might be linked to paraquat rather than at diagnosis. Claims after a death usually run on a separate and shorter deadline. Only an attorney licensed in your state can confirm what applies to you.

How much does a paraquat lawyer cost?

Nothing to ask. The case review is free with no obligation. If a participating law firm takes your case, it will normally work on contingency. That means the fee comes out of a recovery, and no fee is owed if there is no recovery.

Does filling out the form create an attorney-client relationship?

No. Direct2Attorney is a legal marketing and referral service, not a law firm. An attorney-client relationship may form only after a participating law firm reviews your information and signs a separate representation agreement with you.

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— News & updates

Where the litigation currently stands