Paraquat class action suit moves to next level

B.C. court certifies a lawsuit that alleges farm chemical sold by Syngenta from 1963 to 2017 causes Parkinson’s disease

SASKATOON — The Supreme Court of British Columbia has certified a class action lawsuit against Syngenta alleging a link between the chemical paraquat and Parkinson’s disease.

“We’re off the starting blocks and we are busy trying to help our clients get access to justice for their injuries,” said Daniel Bach, partner with Siskinds law firm in Toronto.

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Paraquat is the active ingredient in a broad-spectrum herbicide marketed under the brand name Gramoxone in Canada by Syngenta between 1963 and 2017.

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Syngenta was contacted for this story but said it will not comment during ongoing litigation. However, the company has published some comments on its website.

“We have great sympathy for those suffering from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease,” it said.

“However, it is important to note that paraquat is safe when used as directed, and the scientific evidence simply does not support a causal link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease.”

Syngenta also commented on ongoing litigation in the United States.

“In April 2024, the U.S. federal judge overseeing the majority of paraquat lawsuits rejected the plaintiffs’ causation expert, Professor Martin Wells, on grounds that his data analysis relied on ‘unscientific cherry picking.’ ”

The judge also said it is a red flag that Wells’ views have not been independently validated in any peer-reviewed scientific analysis.

The judge dismissed the first four cases that were set to go to trial in the U.S.

Bach said the Canadian case can now be expanded from the original plaintiffs, Wayne Gionet and Johannes Van Wijngaarden, to include any individual in Canada, with the exception of Quebec, who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after using Gramoxone products any time after July 1, 1963.

“It’s a big deal for our clients,” he said.

The class action suit also includes the living spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent or sibling of a class member.

He encourages anybody who meets the definition of the class to contact Siskinds.

A separate class action lawsuit has already been certified in Quebec and is in the discovery phase.

Bach said Gramoxone was a widely used herbicide on farms across Canada, so he anticipates many growers will eventually become part of the lawsuit.

In her decision, Madam Justice Sandra Wilkinson referenced the testimony of Phil Botham, principal science adviser for Syngenta’s product safety group and one of the company’s deposition witnesses in the similar litigation happening in the U.S.

Botham said Syngenta was aware that small amounts of the chemical could get into the brains of users applying the herbicide and kill or damage brain cells.

“By 1969, Syngenta was aware that paraquat is a “hit-and-run” compound, meaning that the more time that passes after exposure, the more effects will be seen,” the judge stated in her ruling.

In 1975, Chevron, which sold paraquat in the U.S. at that time in a joint venture with Syngenta, said it was concerned about the potential chronic effects on those who sprayed paraquat.

In 1985, Chevron’s concerns were amplified by a Quebec study showing a link between the chemical and Parkinson’s. It enclosed the study in a letter sent to Syngenta.

“I thought I would pass this on to you as I cannot think of anything more horrible for us to bequeath to our successors than an asbestos problem,” stated a Chevron executive.

A year later Chevron exited the paraquat market.

Wilkinson also noted that in an internal presentation, Syngenta told its employees they could no longer say paraquat does not enter the brain, cause changes to the brain and that there was no data linking it to Parkinson’s.

Bach said the decision to certify the case as a class action lawsuit could be appealed by Syngenta.

If the plaintiffs are successful, the case will go to discovery and then eventually to trial.

“At any stage of the litigation, just like any litigation, people can settle,” he said.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen in this case.”

In 2020, Bayer agreed to pay US$10.9 billion to settle 100,000 Roundup lawsuits claiming that the popular glyphosate herbicide caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers.

As of August 2024, 4,311 active Roundup lawsuits remain in litigation, according to Drugwatch.

Bach could not estimate how many people will join the class, how much money could be involved in the Syngenta case or when the case could be concluded.

“Our clients are entitled to a lot of compensation for their illness,” he said.