⚡ Quick Answer
What is the chlorpyrifos lawsuit? Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide sold for decades under brand names including Dursban and Lorsban, and used on farms, golf courses, construction sites, and inside homes before most residential uses were banned in 2000. A December 2025 study published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation found that long-term chlorpyrifos exposure was associated with more than 2.5 times the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The first known lawsuit was filed in June 2026 against Corteva, Dow Chemical and FMC Corporation, and additional cases are now being reviewed nationwide.
⚖️ Legally reviewed by William Ettenger, Esq.
Who Qualifies for a Chlorpyrifos Parkinson's Lawsuit
Eligibility centers on people who were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after meaningful exposure to chlorpyrifos pesticides — whether that exposure happened on the job, at home, on a farm, or during military service. You do not need to remember the word "chlorpyrifos." Most people only remember a product name like Dursban or Lorsban, or simply that "the exterminator sprayed" or "the crop duster came through."
Qualifying Criteria:
Brand Names You May Recognize — Chlorpyrifos Products Named in Lawsuits
"Chlorpyrifos" is the active ingredient — almost no one used that word at the time. It was sold under dozens of trade names, and the one you remember depends on where and when you were exposed. Products named in recently filed Parkinson's disease lawsuits include:
Dursban — Homes, Termites & Pest Control
Dursban was Dow Chemical's chlorpyrifos brand marketed mainly for residential, structural and commercial pest control — home and garden sprays, indoor pest treatments, lawn applications, and termite treatments in completed homes. If an exterminator ever treated your house or apartment for termites, roaches, or ants before 2000, there's a reasonable chance Dursban was the product used, whether or not you or your landlord ever saw the name on a label.
Lorsban — Farms, Crops & Agricultural Use
Lorsban was marketed primarily for agricultural use on corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, fruit trees, orchards and vegetable crops. Concentrated formulations like Lorsban 4E had to be opened, measured, mixed with water, loaded into tanks, sprayed, and later cleaned out of equipment — each step a potential point of skin, inhalation, or spill exposure for farmers, farmworkers, and commercial applicators.
Cobalt, Nufos, Bolton & Stallion — Other Named Products
Chlorpyrifos was also sold under names including Cobalt, Nufos, Bolton and Stallion, with the specific brand often depending on the manufacturer, distributor, region, and decade of use. Many people who worked with these products for years remember only a color-coded jug, a company truck logo, or a supervisor's instructions — not a product name.
Common Ways People Were Exposed
Chlorpyrifos enters the body through inhalation, skin contact, or ingestion, and exposure circumstances vary widely from person to person. Potential claims are generally grouped by where and how the exposure happened.
- 🧑🌾
Farm & agricultural exposure — mixing, loading, or spraying Lorsban or similar products with handheld, backpack, truck-mounted or tractor-mounted equipment; working downwind of an active application; living on a farm with repeated drift
- 🏠
Residential exposure — living in a home sprayed by an exterminator, a landlord, or a family member, or a home that underwent termite treatment before most residential uses ended in 2000
- 🐜
Pest control work — mixing, loading, or applying Dursban or similar products as an occupational pest control technician, often over years or decades
- 🏗️
Construction site exposure — soil, foundation, trench, or perimeter termite treatments at developing properties, affecting laborers, excavation crews, and site supervisors
- ⛳
Golf course exposure — mixing, applying, or working near turf and ornamental-plant insecticide treatments as a groundskeeper or maintenance worker
- 🪖
Gulf War military exposure — service members deployed during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (1990–1992) routinely encountered pesticides used around bases, encampments, and sleeping areas to control mosquitoes and sand flies
How Chlorpyrifos Is Linked to Parkinson's Disease
Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide that works by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme the nervous system needs to regulate communication between nerves and muscles. Developed by Dow Chemical in the 1950s and first registered for sale in the 1960s, it became one of the most widely used insecticides in the country.
Taken together, researchers believe chlorpyrifos may contribute to Parkinson's disease through several overlapping mechanisms:
- ⚡
Oxidative stress — damaging reactive oxygen species that harm proteins, cell membranes and DNA, with dopamine-producing neurons especially vulnerable
- 🔋
Mitochondrial dysfunction — reduced cellular energy in brain cells alongside increased production of damaging free radicals
- 🧠
Dopamine system damage — disruption of dopamine signaling and loss of neurons responsible for controlling movement
- 🔥
Brain inflammation — increased neuroinflammation observed in experimental research following exposure
- 🧬
Abnormal protein buildup — interference with the brain's ability to clear damaged proteins, contributing to alpha-synuclein buildup associated with Lewy bodies
Lawsuits allege that manufacturers never adequately studied these long-term neurological effects among adults, despite decades of widespread use by farmers, pest control workers, and other consumers.
Compensation & What Affects Your Case Value
Chlorpyrifos Parkinson's disease litigation is in its early stages. No global settlement fund exists yet, and no jury verdicts have been reached, so there is no established compensation range to point to. That will likely change as more cases are filed and the litigation develops. In the meantime, attorneys evaluate potential claims individually based on factors that typically drive value in pesticide and toxic-exposure cases:
- 🕒
Duration and intensity of exposure — years of direct occupational use is generally the strongest exposure profile; residential and drift exposure also qualify
- 🩺
Severity and progression — stage of Parkinson's disease, symptom severity, and long-term prognosis
- 💼
Medical expenses and lost income — ongoing treatment costs and impact on earning capacity
- 📅
Age at diagnosis — younger plaintiffs with a longer disease course and more years of lost earning capacity may see higher damages
- ⚖️
Venue — where a case is filed can meaningfully affect litigation strategy and outcomes
Disclaimer: Every case is different. Past results in other pesticide or toxic tort litigation do not guarantee any particular outcome in a chlorpyrifos case.
Is Chlorpyrifos Banned? Regulatory History
Chlorpyrifos is not subject to a complete nationwide ban. The EPA eliminated nearly all residential uses in 2000, but agricultural and certain non-residential uses continued for decades afterward.
In 2021, the EPA revoked all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos, effectively stopping its use on food and animal feed crops. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated that decision in November 2023, and the EPA formally reinstated all tolerances in February 2024. In December 2024, the EPA proposed narrowing food use to just 11 crops:
The registration review remains ongoing, with the EPA planning to issue an amended interim decision in 2026. Several states — including California, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New York and Oregon — have independently restricted or banned chlorpyrifos ahead of any federal action.
Diagnosed With Parkinson's After Pesticide Exposure? Find Out for Free
Whether you remember Dursban, Lorsban, or just "the exterminator" or "the crop duster," an attorney can evaluate your exposure history and medical diagnosis at no cost.
Start My Free Case ReviewChlorpyrifos Lawsuit Updates — 2026
Last updated August 2026. We update this section as new cases are filed and the science develops.
-
August 3, 2026 LatestCalifornia Farmer Files Second Known Lawsuit: A California farmer filed a chlorpyrifos lawsuit alleging that decades of exposure, including at least 10 years personally mixing and spraying the pesticide, caused his Parkinson's disease. The complaint names Corteva, Dow and FMC and claims they failed to adequately study or warn about long-term neurological risks.
-
July 2026First Lawsuit Removed to Federal Court: The Ramos case was removed from Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas to federal court. Lawyers continued reviewing potential claims involving direct pesticide use, residential spraying, farm, construction-site and golf-course exposure, and Gulf War military service.
-
June 16, 2026First Known Chlorpyrifos Parkinson's Lawsuit Filed: Alexander Ramos filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas against Corteva, Corteva Agriscience, Dow Chemical and FMC Corporation, alleging that exposure while working for a pest control company from 1992 through 2015 caused his Parkinson's disease, diagnosed in 2017.
-
March 31, 2026Corteva Discloses Chlorpyrifos Claims in SEC Filing: Corteva reported in its annual SEC filing that it faces asserted personal injury claims tied to former Dow AgroSciences chlorpyrifos products, including Lorsban, along with property remediation claims from certain claimants.
-
January 30, 2026Peer-Reviewed Study Supports Causal Link: A study examining chlorpyrifos and Parkinson's disease reported evidence supporting a causal connection, evaluating epidemiological findings, laboratory research, and biological mechanisms involving dopamine-producing brain cells.
-
December 2025Journal of Neuroinflammation Publishes Key Study: Researchers evaluated more than 1,600 individuals and found long-term chlorpyrifos exposure associated with more than 2.5 times the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, along with dopamine neuron loss and brain inflammation in laboratory models.
-
December 2024EPA Proposes Narrowing Food Use to 11 Crops: Following the Eighth Circuit's vacatur of the 2021 tolerance revocation, the EPA proposed limiting chlorpyrifos food use to 11 crops, estimating this could cut average annual pounds applied nationwide by roughly 70% compared to historical usage.
-
November 2023Eighth Circuit Vacates EPA's 2021 Tolerance Ban: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the EPA's August 2021 rule revoking all chlorpyrifos food tolerances, finding the agency's action unlawful. Tolerances were formally reinstated in February 2024.
How the Chlorpyrifos Lawsuit Process Works
Chlorpyrifos attorneys work on contingency — you pay nothing unless compensation is recovered.
- Free confidential consultation — Share your pesticide exposure history and Parkinson's disease diagnosis with an attorney at no cost, even if you only remember a brand name like Dursban or Lorsban.
- Case review and evidence gathering — Your attorney documents your exposure history (job, location, years, frequency), obtains medical records confirming your diagnosis, and identifies employment or military records that establish chlorpyrifos use nearby.
- Filing the lawsuit — Your case is filed against the appropriate manufacturers and distributors, currently including Corteva, Corteva Agriscience, Dow Chemical and FMC Corporation, in state or federal court depending on your exposure profile.
- Discovery — Both sides exchange evidence, including internal corporate records about what manufacturers knew about chlorpyrifos's neurological risks and when they knew it.
- Expert testimony — Neurologists, toxicologists and epidemiologists present the scientific evidence linking chlorpyrifos exposure to Parkinson's disease, including the December 2025 study findings.
- Settlement evaluation or trial — As this litigation is new, your attorney will advise you as case law, expert rulings, and any consolidated proceedings develop.
- Compensation distributed — If your case settles or a verdict is reached, your attorney is paid a contingency percentage. If they don't recover, you owe nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What brand names was chlorpyrifos sold under?
Chlorpyrifos was sold under trade names including Dursban, Lorsban, Cobalt, Nufos, Bolton and Stallion, among others. Dursban was marketed mainly for residential, structural and termite pest control. Lorsban was marketed mainly for agricultural use on crops.
Most people remember the brand name, not the chemical name, so product identification is one of the first steps an attorney takes when evaluating a claim.
Who qualifies for a chlorpyrifos Parkinson's lawsuit?
You may qualify if you were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after direct, residential, occupational or military exposure to chlorpyrifos products such as Dursban or Lorsban.
This includes people who personally mixed, loaded or applied the pesticide on at least five occasions, lived in a home that was sprayed, worked on a farm, construction site or golf course with repeated pesticide drift, or served during the first Gulf War between 1990 and 1992.
Is there an active chlorpyrifos lawsuit?
Yes. The first known chlorpyrifos Parkinson's disease lawsuit was filed in June 2026 in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas against Corteva, Corteva Agriscience, Dow Chemical and FMC Corporation, and was later removed to federal court.
A second lawsuit was filed by a California farmer in August 2026. These cases are new, and lawyers are actively reviewing additional claims nationwide.
What does the science say about chlorpyrifos and Parkinson's disease?
A study published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation in December 2025 evaluated more than 1,600 individuals and found that long-term chlorpyrifos exposure was associated with more than 2.5 times the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Researchers also observed dopamine neuron loss, brain inflammation and abnormal protein buildup in laboratory models consistent with Parkinson's disease pathology.
Is chlorpyrifos banned?
Not completely. The EPA eliminated most residential uses in 2000. It revoked all food tolerances in 2021, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that rule in 2023, and tolerances were reinstated in February 2024.
The EPA has since proposed limiting food use to 11 crops, with a final decision expected in 2026. Several states, including California, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New York and Oregon, have independently restricted or banned the chemical.
How much is a chlorpyrifos lawsuit worth?
No global settlement has been reached, since litigation is in its early stages. Case value will likely depend on the strength and duration of exposure, Parkinson's disease severity, medical expenses, lost income, age, and the venue where a case is filed. An attorney can evaluate these factors on a contingency basis at no upfront cost.
I don't remember the exact pesticide brand I used. Can I still file a claim?
Possibly. Many people were exposed decades ago and recall only that pesticides were sprayed at a job site, farm or home, not the specific product name. Employment records, pesticide application logs, purchase records, and coworker or family statements can help identify the product used. This is especially common for Gulf War veterans and residential exposure cases from before 2000.
