Less than a month before trial, Syngenta settled a lawsuit brought by a longtime farmworker who alleged the company’s weedkiller paraquat caused his Parkinson’s disease after years of exposure.
Carey Gillam reports for The New Lede.
In short:
- Syngenta settled the case of Douglas Nemeth, a former agricultural worker with Parkinson’s disease, just weeks before trial in Philadelphia; the settlement amount was not disclosed.
- Nemeth is one of more than 6,000 plaintiffs in the U.S. who claim Syngenta failed to warn users about the risks of Parkinson’s from chronic paraquat exposure and actively suppressed related scientific findings.
- Internal company documents obtained by The New Lede and The Guardian show Syngenta knew of the potential link between paraquat and Parkinson’s decades ago and attempted to shape public opinion and scientific discourse.
Why this matters:
Paraquat is one of the most widely used herbicides in American agriculture, despite its known toxicity. Numerous studies have found it can damage brain cells in ways consistent with Parkinson’s disease. The chemical is banned in more than 60 countries but remains in use across U.S. orchards, fields, and pastures. Longtime farmworkers and applicators often face repeated, unprotected exposures over years, sometimes decades. As court documents emerge, they paint a picture of corporate denial and delayed accountability. The health toll is compounded by the slow legal process; many plaintiffs are dying before their cases are resolved.
Related: Delays in Syngenta paraquat lawsuits leave Parkinson’s patients dying without trial
