Justice must decide this Wednesday to know if a former agricultural worker who had blood cancer because of the use of pesticides has the right to obtain compensation for the damage suffered.
- Blood cancer is recognized as an occupational disease for a farm worker who has handled pesticides for several years.
- The social center of the Nantes court must examine his file on Wednesday to grant him compensation.
“Inexcusable mistake”, it is for this reason that Julien Guillard attacks his former employers. Indeed, when he was an agricultural worker, the one who is today vice-president of the association Phyto-Victims has been exposed to plant protection products and exhaust gases for a long time. Thus, when he was only 33 years old, the doctors diagnosed him with lymphoma, which has since been recognized as an occupational disease. This Wednesday, March 16, the social center of the Nantes court must examine his case to find out if he can obtain compensation for the moral damage suffered.
Exposed from an early age
Julien Guillard’s career is that of an enthusiast, who discovered the world of agriculture from the 3rd class. “I started in the Sarthewhere I used a whole bunch of phytosanitary products without being careful, without real protection or awareness of the riskshe explains to the newspaper 20 minutes. I remember the Gaucho, which made it possible to coat the seeds before sowing them. We put all that in a concrete mixer, the dust was flying, my nose was bleeding, I had a headache. My former boss, who has since passed away from a Prostate cancer, did like that, we had no choice, no information. A few years later, I was recruited into a landscaping company in Strasbourg. There, I’m in charge of cleaning the curbs, the cobblestones… I have a sprayer with a lance, the problem is that it leaks, I’m soaked all the time on my back, I have it everywhere. Inside is herbicide, probably glyphosate. I work like this for five years”. Very important risks, which the young agricultural worker did not measure at that time.
Cancer diagnosed a few years later
Julien Guillard feels the first symptoms several years after leaving the agricultural world. In 2015, he coughs a lot and has difficulty breathing which prevents him from sleeping. Ultimately, his cancer was diagnosed in 2016.
“I don’t go to the doctor, leftovers from the agricultural world, where we don’t complain too much… until February 2016 when I have gastro. The doctor realizes right away that something is wrong. The cough, the mottling on my chest, the fatigue… The exams follow one another and the next day, she tells me: “You are 33 years old, you are in good health but you have cancer, lymphoma. The treatment will be painful but normally you will not die. It will be hard but we will get there.” My wife is then 7 months pregnant, my son is 4 years old… I was quickly told about potential recognition as an occupational disease, but I did not take the steps immediately”.
An association
He takes all the necessary steps to have his cancer recognized as an occupational disease. Finally, in just a few months, he is recognized as such. Indeed, the committee examining the file established that the pesticides and the exhaust gases with which he was in contact were in question. At the same time, he created the association Phyto-Victimes to help all people in his case. Since its establishment, 650 people have been helped and there are more than 200 legal proceedings underway. Other objectives of the President: create a compensation fund and go to agricultural colleges to make young people aware of the risks of these products.
In addition to his cancer, Julien Guillard suffers from other health problems linked, according to him, to the handling of pesticides and exhaust gases: leg and neurological pain, with a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in coming years.
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