A farmworker death due to pesticide toxicity: a case report

In the state of California, the use of pesticides is closely regulated. Physicians are required to report all occupational illness attributable to pesticide use. The case of a death involving the handling of aldicarb, a potent methylcarbamate insecticide, is presented. Although the autopsy indicated trauma as the cause of death, subsequent analysis of tissue residues of aldicarb and its metabolites suggested that pesticide toxicity may have been a contributing cause.