Lawsuits Mount over Roundup Weed Killer

There has been a sharp increase of U.S. lawsuits alleging Monsanto’s weed killers such as Roundup and Ranger Pro brands are causing cancer. The increase comes after August 10, 2018, when a San Francisco jury awarded $289 million in a landmark case claiming that Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

Last month, plaintiff Dwayne Johnson, a groundskeeper for a California school district, claimed that regular use of the Monsanto’s product caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

After deliberating for two and a half days, the Superior Court jury concluded that Monsanto’s weed killer products were a “substantial danger” to Johnson and claimed that Monsanto knew or should have known about the risks associated with products and failed to warn customers. Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos said that Monsanto “acted with malice, oppression or fraud and should be punished for its conduct.”

Weeks after the verdict, Parent company Bayer said there are approximately 8,700 plaintiffs alleging that exposure to Monsanto’s weed killers and glyphosate lead to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s weed killers such as Roundup and Ranger Pro brands is at the center of discussion. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency at the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic.” The evaluation also concluded that there was “limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.”

Bayer says they disagree with the verdict and said that based on “regulatory authorities all over the world confirming that glyphosate does not cause cancer and is safe for use when used according to label instructions, we continue to believe that we have meritorious defenses and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in all these lawsuits. “

Bayer says they are expecting more lawsuits in the future and that the majority of the lawsuits filed were in Missouri, Delaware and California.