The debate over whether Roundup causes cancer continues with 42,700 plaintiffs lined up in lawsuits against Monsanto’s parent company, Bayer.

In mid-July of this year, plaintiffs numbered less than 19,000, according to Bayer. In a statement released to the press, Bayer blamed media advertising for the increased number of lawsuits.

“However, the number of lawsuits says nothing about their merits,” said Bayer’s statement.

According to an article on DW.com, a number of plaintiffs came forth after an August 2018 determination was made that Monsanto should have issued a warning of potential cancer risks of using its Roundup line of herbicides.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup products, but a variety of secret, supposed inert ingredients create the mixture known as Roundup.

The World Health Organization deemed glyphosate a probable human carcinogen in 2015. In a majority of the lawsuits, plaintiffs cite the development of non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer allegedly caused by Roundup exposure.

Juries Say That Roundup Causes Cancer

So far, Bayer has lost three high-profile Roundup lawsuits in the United States.

In August 2018, a former school groundskeeper was awarded $289 million by a San Francisco jury, but a judge reduced that award to $78.5 million. Dewayne Lee Johnson was visibly suffering from non-Hodgkins lymphoma during the trial.

Another California man, Edwin Hardeman, was awarded $80 million by a federal court jury earlier this year; a judge reduced that award to $25.2 million.

Alva and Alberta Pilliod, both in their 70s, were originally awarded $2.055 billion by a California jury, but a judge reduced that award to $87 million. Both the husband and wife say they used Roundup on their properties for three decades. They were each diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2011 and 2015 respectively.

In the case of the Pilliods, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith declared that evidence showed Monsanto knew glyphosate could be a health hazard and failed to warn consumers of its dangers, but she said the punitive damages awarded by the jury were higher than constitutionally allowed—the U.S. Supreme Court has set a standard that punitive damages should not be more than four times the amount of awarded damages.

Local Governments Banning Pesticide

Back in March, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors placed a moratorium on the use of glyphosate-based weed killers until more research is done on them.

LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl co-authored the motion and told local NBC affiliate Channel 4, “In a 2015 study led by 17 experts from 11 countries, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that glyphosate should be classified as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans.’ That conclusion makes it imperative that we question any long-term use of this controversial herbicide, and that’s exactly what this motion calls for.”

In October, the Hawaii County Council Committee on Agriculture, Water, Energy and Environmental Management voted to advance a bill that would ban the use of glyphosate-based pesticides, fearing Roundup causes cancer. The Board had met earlier this year with Dwayne Lee Johnson regarding his fight against non-Hodgkins lymphoma after using Roundup for years while employed as a school groundskeeper.

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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