Dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate is a commonly used pesticide in the United States. It’s often sprayed on crops including brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, and onion.
Better known as DCPA or Dacthal, the pesticide has been registered in the U.S. for use since 1958, although the manufacturer voluntarily terminated EPA registration for use on most vegetable crops in 2005 as a result of concerns about the impact on groundwater.
Unfortunately, despite early evidence of potential toxicity that led to these concerns, the pesticide has continued to be utilized frequently within the U.S. agriculture industry. This is now changing, though. On August 6, 2024, the EPA announced an emergency order to stop all uses of Dacthal as a result of the dire health risks it presents.
Sadly, the EPA’s action comes too late for many,as countless Americans have already been exposed to dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate and many have experienced pregnancy complications as a result.
With the EPA now confirming the extreme risk, many of those who suffered from exposure have begun to file Dacthal pesticide lawsuits to hold the pesticide manufacturer accountable for the harm the company caused with its dangerous product. Our mass tort attorneys are prepared to represent you if you or a loved one have been harmed by this dangerous pesticide.
The Risks of Dacthal Pesticide
On August 6, 2024, the U.S. EPA took action to stop the use of DCPA in the United States.
The EPA’s news release included the following statement from Michal Freedhoff, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention:
“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately. It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems. That’s why for the first time in almost 40 years, EPA is using its emergency suspension authority to stop the use of a pesticide.”
The EPA’s actions are long overdue. In fact, in 2023, the EPA revealed that an assessment of the risks of Dacthal showed the pesticide could seriously harm unborn fetuses. The EPA warned that pregnant individuals who come into contact with DCPA could be subject to exposures four to 20 times greater than the levels that are safe for unborn babies.
Unfortunately, this is true even when the pregnant woman uses personal protective equipment and even in circumstances where engineering controls are in place. When a woman who is pregnant enters a work area where DCPA has been applied in the past, she may be subject to exposure to dangerous levels of the chemical without even being aware of it.
This includes workers who are handling sprayed produce or other materials after the time the chemical has been applied. Women involved in transplanting, weeding, and harvesting are all at great risk.
The EPA also indicates that levels of Dacthal pesticide remain at unsafe levels for as long as 25 days after the chemicals have been applied. Those who live near areas where the pesticide is used are also at risk as a result of spray drift, which occurs when pesticides move through the air during or after the application process.
The EPA’s decision makes very clear just how dangerous this pesticide is, and how many pregnant women and their babies have been irreparably damaged as a result of its widespread use.
How Does Dacthal Affect Infants?
Exposure to DCPA can result in changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels. These changes have been linked to the following complications:
- Low birth weights
- Birth defects
- Neurological problems
- Decreased IQ
- Impaired motor skills
- Development delays
- Other serious health concerns
Many women do not even know that they have been exposed to Dacthal and are unaware of the risk the pesticide presents to their fetus.
Dacthal Pesticide Lawsuits
When the EPA issued its warning, news of the Dacthal risks became apparent to women who have a history of exposure to this pesticide and whose babies may have been impacted by the dangerous side effects.
Once the link between serious fetal injury and DCPA became apparent, women began filing lawsuits against the manufacturer, AMVAC Chemical Corp. The chemical company is the sole manufacturer of Dacthal pesticides in the United States.
These lawsuits could arise under several different legal theories including the following.
Strict Liability
Strict liability laws apply to product liability claims throughout the United States. Although there may be slight variations in the rules from one jurisdiction to another, this explanation from the Illinois court system provides clear details on how these laws work in product liability claims.
“To recover in strict product liability, a plaintiff must plead and prove that the injury or damage resulted from a condition of the product manufactured or sold by the defendant, that the condition was an unreasonably dangerous one, and that the condition existed at the time the product left the manufacturer’s control,” the Illinois court guide reads.
This means that, unlike in a traditional personal injury claim, you do not have to show that AMVAC Chemical Corp behaved negligently with regards to the production or distribution of Dacthal. If the product was unreasonably dangerous at the time AMVAC Chemical Corp manufactured and sold it, then those harmed by the pesticide can pursue a claim for compensation.
Strict liability laws can simplify the process of recovering compensation when they apply. They place the burden on manufacturers to make sure their products are safe and to cover the costs if it turns out that is not the case.
Negligence
It may also be possible to file a lawsuit against AMVAC Chemical Corp based on negligence if the company failed to fulfill a legal duty.
Plaintiffs could argue the company was negligent in a number of ways, including in failing to warn people of the dangers of Dacthal. Those dangers have been known for a long time.
Use of the pesticide was banned in the European Union in 2009, and in April of 2022, the EPA had issued a Notice of Intent to suspend the DCPA technical-grade product because AMVAC failed to provide the required decade for more than a decade — including data that was available on the risk to infants.
Plaintiffs may be able to make a solid case that the company behaved improperly and with an unreasonable lack of care with regard to the dangerous chemical’s continued distribution without adequate warnings of its dangers.
Making a Dacthal Pesticide Claim
If your child was affected by exposure to Dacthal in the womb, you have a legal right to pursue a claim to recover all of the monetary damages that have occurred as a result of any medical complications caused by this pesticide.
You have a number of different legal avenues to pursue in making your case. For example:
- You could file an individual lawsuit: Suing independently means you will need to gather evidence and meet your burden of proving the defendant should be held liable. Your compensation will be based on the extent of the damages that you demonstrate to the courts.
- You could join a class action: News of Dactal’s serious risks is very recent, but many victims are already coming forward. When many people suffer the same type of harm, they can resolve all of their cases in a class action lawsuit. This means they all become part of a big class which brings one individual claim against the product manufacturer.
- Your case could become part of a multi-district litigation: MDLs are often formed when many people are harmed by the same cause. Each individual plaintiff’s case remains separate but all the claims are consolidated before one judge so pre-trial issues can be jointly decided for expediency. Test cases usually take place to inform settlement negotiations, and often a global settlement is reached that resolves everyone’s individual claims.
Joining a class action or having your case resolved through multi-district litigation can be much easier than pursuing your own individual lawsuit. You likely will not have to do very much besides submitting some paperwork.
Unfortunately, you will have no control over how your case goes. You won’t be putting together evidence to prove you were harmed or to show the extent of your specific losses. You also won’t be involved in settlement negotiations and the compensation you get will likely be determined based on a formula that is part of a broader settlement you have no part in creating.
While many plaintiffs find that a class action or MDL is the right legal strategy because of its simplicity, this is not always the best solution in each individual circumstance.
The best thing you can do if you were damaged by Dactal exposure during pregnancy is to reach out to an experienced mass tort lawyer as soon as possible. Your attorney will advise you on the legal options you could pursue and will help you at every step of your case to fight for justice for the damage done.
When a child’s health is impacted, the stakes are often very high because the damage can cause lifelong losses that are very expensive to treat and that interfere with the child’s full potential. You need an advocate to represent you as you work to hold AMVAC Chemical Corp responsible for harming your baby in the womb. Contact an attorney today to protect your rights and recover the compensation your child needs to overcome any challenges.