A federal jury in San Francisco emphasized Monsanto Roundup dangers by ruling that the herbicide likely caused the non-Hodgkins lymphoma of plaintiff Edwin H.

The plaintiff is a senior citizen from Sonoma County and the first litigant to win a glyphosate case against the company in federal court. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, a popular weed-killer found in the garden centers of variety stores throughout the U.S. and abroad.

The Bayer Company purchased Monsanto last June and within three months was faced with the first plaintiff’s verdict in a California State Court based in San Francisco.

According to NPR, Monsanto Roundup dangers were first underscored with this verdict in August 2018 in which a school groundskeeper who developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma was initially awarded $289 million. This compensation was later reduced to $80 million and the case is still under appeal.

As indicated by a New York Times article, Edwin H. alleged he was exposed to Monsanto Roundup dangers by using the product to control weeds and poison oak which frequently grew on his property. The report revealed that his use of the herbicide spanned over two and a half decades.

Edwin’s cancer was diagnosed in 2015—the same year that the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that glyphosate was a “probable human carcinogen.” This conclusion regarding Monsanto Roundup dangers was reached after reviewing scientific data the period of at least a year. This action by IARC is what spurred the plaintiff to file his lawsuit in February 2016.

The recent federal jury ruling ended phase one of the federal case. The lawsuit will now proceed to determine appropriate compensation for the plaintiff.

As indicated by AGWired, Bayer claims grave disappointment in the conclusion of the federal jury, but continues to stand behind its herbicide product and downplay Monsanto Roundup dangers.

There are two questions which are central to the controversy at the lawsuit’s core:

• Did Monsanto deliberately twist scientific data and spin public opinion for its own sales end?
• Should Monsanto have known and warned all potential users of the risks involved in using Roundup products?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been at odds with IARC and ruled in December 2017 that glyphosate was most likely not a human carcinogen.

According to the New York Times, however, documents unsealed in Edwin H.’s case indicate that an official within the EPA might have made a special effort to end federal inquiries on glyphosate’s human health impact.

Additionally, these unsealed documents may also indicate that Monsanto wrote its own research under a presumed scientist’s name. The data from this report may have also been funneled to the EPA, according to the Times.

While Bayer does not see this latest verdict as a trend that will affect future verdicts on cases yet to come before the court, the consequences are bound to be felt. Edwin H.’s counsel told New York Times reporters that approximately 11,000 glyphosate cases are pending.

Early on March 19, 2019, a mere 24 hours after the verdict, Reuters reported a 12 percent decline in the cost of Bayer shares in the stock market.

If you or a loved one developed cancer after using Roundup as a farm worker or home gardener, you may have a legal claim. Legal migrant farm workers may also seek help. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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