Defective and dangerous products can cause serious and catastrophic injuries. Dangerous toys can harm children, defective components in an automobile can kill, and vaping products can cause irreversible lung damage.

Under the Louisiana Products Liability Act (LPLA), manufacturers are liable for products that are “unreasonably dangerous” in the following ways:

• in their construction or composition
• in their design
• if the manufacturer fails to provide sufficient warning of hazards
• if the product does not conform to an express manufacturer warranty.

Injuries caused by defective products can affect more than just the victim. When a dangerous product causes death or a serious, permanent injury, family members are impacted by their loved one’s pain, struggles, and medical treatment.

Paraquat Litigation

Paraquat dichloride is a chemical herbicide widely used in Louisiana by commercial farmers to control weeds.  It is also used on cotton or soybean farms for the desiccation of crops.  Paraquat has been around for over 50 years, but its use has increased as other herbicides have become less effective. It is also often referred to as Gramoxone (a popular end-use product) or Quick-Quat, Parazone, Cyclone, Helmquat, Bonfire Herbicide, or Firestorm.

Paraquat is highly toxic, and Paraquat exposure can cause fatal poisoning when ingested or inhaled. Accidental ingestion as small as one sip can be fatal, and there is no antidote. Paraquat poisoning is also possible after skin exposure. Poisoning is more likely to occur if the skin exposure lasts for a long time, involves a concentrated version of paraquat, or occurs through broken skin – like a cut or sore.

In addition to poisoning, Paraquat exposure has other serious health risks such as Parkinson’s Disease, lung damage and scarring, lung function and respiratory effects, heart failure, or a disease specifically called “paraquat lung.”

The highest health risks are to agricultural workers who apply paraquat, enter treated fields after application and who are exposed to spray drifts.  Also at risk are individuals or families living on or near farms. Over time, exposure to aerosolized paraquat that enters through the nose can travel into the brain.  This is where it causes victims to lose their sense of smell and begins causing damage that can lead to Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease has no cure, is progressive, and leads to a lifetime of treatments including medications, physical therapy, and surgeries.

Lawsuits are mounting throughout the country by victims injured by Paraquat use, many of whom were farm workers diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  In some of these lawsuits, claimants allege that the defendants had knowledge of the dangers of paraquat exposure and knew that it could cause Parkinson’s, but they concealed that information.  Some allege that the defendants failed to provide adequate packaging and failed to provide proper labeling containing the warnings about paraquat.

Roundup

Roundup, a widely used glyphosate-based herbicide, has been found to cause cancer.  The product originally produced by Monsanto, which is now owned by the parent company, Bayer, is broadly distributed for commercial use and to the general public.  Its product warning label only includes precautions about its toxicity due to immediate exposure or ingestion.  However, the use of this product has been found to cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma (aka non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or NHL), and some large-scale businesses throughout the country have stopped selling the product.

Now, Roundup weed killer is at the center of thousands of lawsuits in the United States.  Juries have found that Monsanto misleads and endangered the public.  Many people filing suit have had jobs where they are using this carcinogenic product extensively.  There are others that used Roundup on their personal property for an extended number of years and, through this repeated exposure, have developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes in the body and can cause debilitating problems and sometimes result in death.

The New Orleans dangerous products attorneys at our firm have recovered billions of dollars against manufacturers who marketed and sold dangerous, defective, and harmful products. Our experienced New Orleans dangerous product lawyers have taken on Big Tobacco and the pharmaceutical companies and won. Herman Herman & Katz, LLC has also taken on medical device manufacturers for injuries suffered by children caused by defective medical products and devices. Our New Orleans dangerous product attorney has led efforts across the nation on class actions against manufacturers, and our firm is recognized as one of the best product liability firms in the country.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective or dangerous product, learn about your legal rights from an experienced New Orleans dangerous products lawyer by calling 504-581-4892 or by filling out our free, no-obligation case review form.