abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

25 Mar 2008

Author:
Kristin Collins, News & Observer [No. Carolina, USA]

Grower settles with limbless child [USA]

Tomato grower Ag-Mart [part of Procacci Brothers] will pay for the lifelong care of a field worker's child who was born with no arms and legs, lawyers said Monday. The Florida company agreed late Friday to settle a case brought by the parents of Carlos Herrera Candelario, who was born in 2004. The parents claimed that his mother's frequent exposure to pesticides in Ag-Mart's fields during pregnancy...caused the boy's deformity... Ag-Mart spokesman Leo Bottary said he could not comment on the settlement. The agreement was not an admission of guilt... North Carolina agriculture officials...say they found evidence that Ag-Mart employees were frequently forced to work in fields freshly sprayed with dangerous pesticides. Ag-Mart denies the accusations, saying the charges against it are the result of a misreading of its records... Company officials also claimed in the past that Ag-Mart was not responsible for birth defects among its workers and suggested that the women might have taken the drug thalidomide...