Monsanto ordered to pay US$81 million in Roundup cancer trial
SAN FRANCISCO: Monsanto was ordered on Wednesday to pay some US$81 million to an American retiree who blames his cancer on the agribusiness giant’s weedkiller Roundup.
A San Francisco jury found the firm, which is owned by Bayer, had been “negligent by not using reasonable care” to warn of the risks of its product, ordering it to pay Edwin Hardeman US$75 million in punitive damages, US$5.6 million in compensation and US$200,000 for medical expenses.
The jury also found that Roundup’s design was defective and that the product lacked sufficient warnings of potential risk.
The same jury had previously found that a quarter century exposure to Roundup, whose principal ingredient is controversial chemical glyphosate, was a ‘substantial factor’ in giving the 70-year-old Hardeman nonHodgkin’s lymphoma.
The verdict marks a major setback for Bayer, which purchased Monsanto last year for $63 billion and has seen its shares plunge because of the litigation.
The company said it would appeal the verdict even though it sympathized with Hardeman’s plight.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s decision, but this verdict does not change the weight of over four decades of extensive science and the conclusions of regulators worldwide that support the safety of our glyphosate-based herbicides and that they are not carcinogenic,” Bayer said in a statement.
“The verdict in this trial has no impact on future cases and trials, as each one has its own factual and legal circumstances.”
Hardeman’s attorneys, who cheered and hugged their client as the verdict was announced, said they were pleased the jury had unanimously ruled in his favor and that Monsanto was being held accountable.
“It is clear from Monsanto’s actions that it does not care whether Roundup causes cancer, focusing instead on manipulating public opinion and undermining anyone who raises genuine and legitimate concerns about Roundup,” attorneys Aimee Wagstaff and Jennifer Moore said in a statement.
“It speaks volumes that not one Monsanto employee, past or present, came live to trial to defend Roundup’s safety or Monsanto’s actions.”
The case is one of more than 11,200 similar cases in the US alone involving Roundup.
Last year, Monsanto lost a case to a California school groundskeeper suffering from terminal nonHodgkin’s lymphoma, who had sued the company over the glyphosate weedkillers Roundup and Ranger Pro.
Monsanto was initially ordered to pay US$289 million to Dewayne Johnson, before the damages were reduced to US$78.5 million
Bayer has also filed an appeal in that case. — AFP