Title: Australian law firm investigates potential paraquat class action
Shine Lawyers, a firm which has secured over $1 billion in past class action settlements and judgements, recently announced it is, "exploring the possibility of a class action on behalf of potentially thousands of individuals who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease following exposure to paraquat."
The firm said the class action investigation aims to determine whether the manufacturers of paraquat knew or should have known about, "the associated risks and failed to adequately warn consumers".According to Shine Lawyers there are almost 6,000 lawsuits pending throughout the United States, targeting paraquat manufacturers including Syngenta and Chevron, which allege prolonged exposure to the herbicide has led to the development of Parkinson's disease in numerous individuals.
Shine Lawyers joint head of class actions, Craig Allsopp, said there are over 150,000 people living with Parkinson's in Australia, and added people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's, "may have been exposed to paraquat without even knowing it."
"Anyone working on farms or farm equipment, spraying paraquat, or living near farms and wineries where paraquat has been used, may have been exposed to the herbicide," he said.
Paraquat is under "priority review" at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) however the provisional findings of the review have been pushed back to the end of 2025 in order for the APVMA to consider more submissions on the safety of continuing with the toxin's current use patterns in Australia.
