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Plaintiff Mother In Ag-Mart Birth Defect Lawsuit Worked in North Carolina Tomato Fields While Pregnant With Son Born Without Limbs

Ag-Mart Produce has agreed to settle the birth defects lawsuit filed by the parents of Carlitos Candelario, a 3-year-old boy born without arms or legs. The boys? parents Abraham Candelario and Francisca Herrera had worked for the tomato grower in fields in North Carolina and South Carolina that had been sprayed with pesticide while Francisca was pregnant.

Candelario and Herrera filed their birth defects lawsuit against Ag-Mart in 2006. They have accused the family of spraying pesticides on the fields while workers were present and not waiting long enough to send workers back to the field after the pesticides were applied.

A hearing has been scheduled this summer in North Carolina by the state pesticide board to determine whether Ag-Mart workers were exposed to toxic chemicals in pesticides. The tomato grower grows grape tomatoes in Brunswick County, North Carolina.

In 2005, Ag-Mart was charged with 369 violations of the state?s pesticide law. Company officials, however, says that many of the charges are false because North Carolina investigators had misinterpreted work records.

To this day, Ag-Mart continues to deny responsibility for causing Carlitos?s birth defects. Other farm workers under its employ also had children with birth defects around the time that Carlitos was born.

Ag-Mart has also voluntarily stopped using certain pesticides that appeared to be responsible for developmental problems in lab animals.

The terms of the birth defects settlement between Ag-Mart and Carlitos?s family is confidential, but their personal injury lawyer says that Carlitos will receive financial support for his medical costs, plus income, for life.

In South Carolina and North Carolina, our personal injury lawyers represent children and adults that have sustained catastrophic injuries because of the negligent or careless actions of people and/or corporations.

Ag-Mart settlement with couple OK'd, News and Observer, April 18, 2008

Board revives pesticide case, News and Observer, March 12, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Ag-Mart Produce

Beyond Pesticides

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on April 22, 2008 (boomark / email).