Paraquat Exposure Lawsuits Continue to be Filed

MDL

For years, farmers and agricultural workers have used pesticides to control weed and grass growth that can be detrimental to crops, dry out certain plants, and remove leaves from them before harvesting. But over time, regular pesticide use has caused plants to become resistant, leading to stronger – and in many cases, more toxic and dangerous – pesticides sprayed on crops.

Paraquat dichloride is a prominent example of a highly toxic, yet commonly used pesticide in the U.S. While it’s extremely effective and only sold commercially, the risks of using the pesticide are beginning to emerge. Research into the health effects of pesticides have demonstrated there may be serious dangers of working with paraquat.

In fact, studies have associated paraquat with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, among other illnesses. As a result, thousands of lawsuits have been filed against its manufacturers, including Syngenta and Chevron.

How Many People Die From Car Accidents Each Year?

Auto Accidents

Car accidents are annually responsible for approximately 1.3 million deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) projects there were an estimated 42,915 traffic fatalities in 2021, a 10.5 percent increase compared to 2020 and the highest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.
Fifty-five percent of motor vehicle deaths were the result of single-vehicle crashes, according to 2020 statistics published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) reports that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged five to 29. More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and they are also the single greatest annual cause of death of healthy U.S. citizens traveling abroad.
In addition to devastation from

59-year-old man mauled to death by a pack of dogs

Dog Bites

man in California was mauled to death by a pack of dogs on Sunday, the Selma Police Department said in a press release. When police arrived on scene, an individual was attempting to separate the dogs from the 59-year-old victim.

First aid was administered and the man, who has not been identified, was taken to a hospital, where he died, the department said. The number of dogs involved or type of breed was not specified.

The dogs escaped from a nearby residence and attacked the man while he was walking through the neighborhood, investigators learned. The person who tried to help the man was also bitten by one of the dogs and suffered a minor injury.

The dogs were captured by officers and are being quarantined. The owner of the dogs is cooperating with officials. CBS News has reached out to the Selma Police Department for further information.

In 2020,

Pitbull seized after child bitten on face and skateboarder mauled

Dog Bites

The Village of Sebewaing Police Department seized a 100-pound pitbull named “Lucifer” on Thursday after the pitbull bit a 5-year-old girl on the face and mauled a man riding a skateboard earlier this month.

The girl was playing in the northern portion of town when she was bitten and suffered significant injuries to her face, chin and neck.

Those injuries included deep lacerations to her nose and cheek area and puncture wounds below her chin, with a bite missing her carotid artery by a few centimeters, according to a post made Friday afternoon on the Village of Sebewaing Police Department Facebook page.

The child was taken to a local hospital where she was stabilized and then transferred to a Saginaw hospital for reconstructive surgery due to the extent of her injuries.

The department immediately investigated the incident, and the owner was arrested on a municipal charge of unregistered/unvaccinated dog. The owner

3M Earplug Lawsuit Began As A Small Patent Fight With Rival

3M Earplugs

The mountain of legal cases facing 3M Co. over its military-grade earplugs — it’s facing tens of thousands of lawsuits from veterans and potentially more than $1 billion in liability — may have its roots in a much smaller intellectual-property fight with another earplug maker.

That’s the takeaway from a report in The Wall Street Journal, which delves into the legal history behind 3M’s Combat Arms earplugs. The earplugs have drawn legal complaints from veterans who say they damaged their hearing.

But the company has lost more than half the 16 lawsuits decided so far, with damages ranging from $1.7 million to more than $75 million. 3M is appealing some of the cases, but there are tens of thousands more ahead; a judge has ordered settlement talks.

3M got into the earplug business when it bought Aearo Technologies Inc. for $1.2 billion in 2008. A few years later, the Journal