A California jury awarded an elderly couple a total of $2.055 billion in the most recent glyphosate trial, marking the third time in less than a year that a Roundup verdict has gone against Bayer.

The plaintiffs, Alva and Alberta P., said they had used the herbicide on their property in Livermore since the mid-1980s. One was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in 2011; the other was diagnosed with the same illness four years later.

The jury award includes $55 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. Although defendant Bayer has stated that it will appeal the verdict, it makes a powerful statement, and hopefully sends a clear message to Bayer that “they need to change what they are doing,” as plaintiffs’ counsel told the press.

One Roundup Verdict After Another

Whether or not Bayer will heed this most recent message remains to me seen. Last August, the first Roundup trial ended in a verdict for plaintiff Dewayne J., a former groundskeeper for a Bay Area school district who is dying from NHL. That Roundup verdict came to $289 million, although a judge later reduced the amount by over 70 percent due to state limits on punitive damages. The second trial ended in an $80 million judgment against Bayer in favor of Edwin Hardeman of Sonoma County. He claimed his NHL was due to exposure to the active ingredient in Roundup, which he had used for more than three decades.

Despite these repeated losses, Bayer remains adamant that the active ingredient, glyphosate, is perfectly safe when used according to the label directions.

About Glyphosate

Glyphosate is a chemical found in numerous commercial herbicides since Monsanto’s patent expired in 2000. It was first introduced to the market in 1974; since then, glyphosate as become the most widely-used herbicide in the world. Its mechanism of action disables the reproductive systems of plant cells, but can also affect bacteria.

The carcinogenicity of glyphosate is still being debated in some scientific circles. Generally however, the evidence indicates that long-term glyphosate exposure can and does result in the formation of malignant tumors. In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) determined glyphosate to be a “likely carcinogen.” Two years later, the state of California added glyphosate to its list of substances “known to cause cancer.”

Because of its aforementioned mechanism of action, glyphosate also appears to kill off beneficial gut flora found in the gastrointestinal tract. This can potentially lead to numerous health problems.

Bayer Investors Take a Hit

While Bayer management stubbornly stands by the reputed “safety” of glyphosate, Bayer’s shareholders and investors are beginning to lose patience. Since the first Roundup verdict last summer, Bayer shares have fallen in value by over 30 percent. What Bayer thought was a good business move has turned into a potential nightmare of litigation, as there are as many as 13,400 more glyphosate claims still pending.

It remains to be seen whether or not Bayer will listen to its disgruntled shareholders and start thinking about a settlement or continue to spend vast sums defending an increasingly unpopular product.

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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