Syngenta has finalized a master settlement agreement that could resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging its paraquat herbicide causes Parkinson’s disease.
Carey Gillam reports for The New Lede.
In short:
- Syngenta and plaintiffs’ attorneys have signed a final settlement framework that could offer compensation to thousands of people claiming harm from paraquat exposure. A payout schedule is expected within 60 to 90 days.
- More than 6,700 lawsuits accuse Syngenta of failing to warn users about the herbicide’s potential to cause Parkinson’s and of hiding internal knowledge of the chemical's health risks.
- Despite scientific evidence linking paraquat to brain damage, Syngenta has denied clear causality, while internal documents suggest the company tried to manipulate public and scientific opinion.
Key quote:
“There is a budgeting process that is underway. We’re moving as fast as we can. There are several thousand cases at play.”
— Khaldoun Baghdadi, lead attorney for the plaintiffs
Why this matters:
Paraquat is among the most widely used herbicides in U.S. agriculture, deployed across orchards, cotton fields, and grazing pastures. Its link to Parkinson’s disease has raised alarms among health professionals and farmworker advocates, particularly as internal corporate records suggest long-standing awareness of its potential neurotoxicity. The lawsuits come amid a broader industry trend of agrochemical firms seeking legal shields from product liability, even as independent science continues to examine the risks of long-term chemical exposures. With Parkinson’s diagnoses rising and no cure available, the paraquat controversy underscores the stakes of chemical safety regulation in both public health and environmental justice contexts.
Related: Syngenta quietly settles lawsuit linking paraquat weedkiller to Parkinson’s disease
