A California jury has handed down an award of more than $2 billion to a couple after a finding that Monsanto’s weed killer contributed to their cancer. The couple will also receive $55 million to cover medical bills and for pain and suffering. The couple, a 76-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman, had used Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer for roughly 30 years for landscaping.
The jury believed the Monsanto product was a substantial contributor in the plaintiffs’ developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The man was diagnosed with the disease in 2011, and his wife was diagnosed in 2015. They were both in remission at the time of the jury award.
Bayer, Monsanto’s parent company, said it plans to appeal the decision and countered the allegation that glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup, has been tied to the development of cancer. The company said the couple in the case had histories of other non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma risk factors.
Monsanto has lost three cases tied to Roundup in California. A school groundskeeper who regularly worked with Roundup was awarded $78.5 million in 2014 after he developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and a man who had used the weed killer for more than 25 years before developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was awarded $80 million in 2015. The verdicts and awards have caused Bayer stock prices to fall marginally.
People who have been harmed as the result of using a consumer product might have claims for damages. Costa Mesa defective product and machinery legal representation may be able to help by examining the facts of the case and advising a person regarding causes of action and sources of recovery. In a case where a client suffered injury or illness due to continued use of a product, an attorney might secure the testimony of expert witnesses or conduct depositions of the experts testifying for the other side.
Source: CBS News, “Jury awards couple $2 billion in Monsanto Roundup cancer lawsuit trial,” April Siese, May, 13, 2019
