2021 Public Safety Lawsuits - Lockheed Martin, Paraquat, Walter Kidd

Lockheed Martin releases hazardous chemicals, heavy metals, pollutants, and volatile organic compounds that they use while manufacturing weapons into the ground, water supply, and into the air causing employees and residents to suffer with inexorable diseases compromising their immune systems, causing birth defects, and damage to their vital organs. Paraquat mass toxic tort cases are indidivudal legal claims filed for individual plaintiffs against a defendant who negligently or deliberately released dangerous chemicals or created dangerous unsafe conditions that caused serious illness or injuries to the plaintiff who filed the legal action. Walter Kidd was fined by the U.S. Department of Justice for disregard for the safety of consumers who purchase and rely on their fire extinguishers.
 

Lockheed Martin Improperly Disposes of Hazardous Waste

Lockheed Martin of Orlando, Florida, uses dangerous hazardous materials to build heavy-duty weapons and their components. Lockheed Martin has been manufacturing weapons on their Orange County, Florida site since 1957. Instead of diligently disposing of the hazardous materials as required under the Superfund Amendment and Recovery Act, the defendants accumulate toxic waste in leaky rusty storage tanks and releases them into the ground through underground pipes.
 

Toxic Chemicals Improperly Handled

Defendant's attempts to treat the soil and water with purifiers, air filtering systems, and soil vapor extraction increased the toxicity of the air. A partial list of toxins include: trichloro and tetrachloro-ethylenes, methyl chloroform, vinyl and methylene chloride, benzene, chloro and ethyl-benzene, carbon disulfide, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), perfluoroalkyls (PFAS), cadmium, chromium and lead. All are known to cause cancer.
 

Plaintiffs Seek Medical Care for those Affected

Plaintiffs hope to provide diagnostic tests and medical care for all employees or residents who lived within five miles of Lockheed Martin's Orlando manufacturing plant who suffer from:

- Disorders of the blood or central nervous system
- Damage to liver, kidneys, skin, and heart
- Diseases of immune, respiratory, skeletal, reproductive, and endocrine systems
- Birth defects and developmental disorders in children
 

Paraquat Mass Tort Litigation

The National Institutes of Health reported that farmers, gardeners, and others that regularly used paraquat pesticides are 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's effects the central nervous system and produces movement, tremors, stiffness, or falls. Medications can reduce your symptoms, but there is no cure for Parkinson's disease.

Paraquat is a chemical herbicide used by farmers throughout the United States. Paraquat is linked to Parkinson's disease. Ingestion of paraquat is fatal. Paraquat is sold as Gramoxone, Para-SHOT, Parazone, Quick-Quat, Firestorm, and Helmquat.
 

Compensation for Diagnosis, Treatment, and Loss

A third-party personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit can be filed to get you compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. A wrongful death lawsuit filed after the death of your loved one due to exposure to paraquat can get you compensation for your loved one's personal injuries, funeral expenses, loss of the wage earner, and the loss of guidance of a parent or companionship of a spouse.

Class action lawsuits have been filed against Syngenta, Chevron, and other manufacturers for their role in marketing and distributing paraquat which leads to the development of Parkinson's disease. Filing a lawsuit also deters the manufacturers from marketing and selling the dangerous defective pesticide.
 

Carrier Global and Walter Kidde Fire Extinguishers Fail

Fire extinguishers can be the difference between life or death, but Carrier Global Corporation and Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc. marketed millions of fire extinguishers that don't work. A 36-page class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court of Northern California claims that the manufacturers' plastic handles and push buttons fail or the extinguishers' nozzles become clogged leaving purchasers at their peril.

Claiming that the defect is a direct threat to consumers' lives, safety, and property, the plaintiffs claim Carolina-based Walter Kidde and Carrier Global merely collected a vast number of consumer complaints and did nothing. Both manufacturers have not warned consumers that their product may fail. The class action lawsuit demands a jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages, restitution, and all other monetary relief that a member of the Plaintiff class are entitled to including attorney's fees and court costs.
 

The U.S. Department of Justice - $12 Million Penalty

In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) filed against Kidde for underreporting defective extinguishers and failing to report nozzles that detached from their extinguishers. In January 2021, Kidde was ordered to pay a $12 million penalty.