Plaintiffs Francisco B. and Claudia B. have filed a lawsuit in Arizona federal court against Monsanto Co., the manufacturers of Roundup, after Francisco acquired non-Hodgkin lymphoma allegedly due to a link between Roundup and cancer.

According to the couple’s Roundup cancer lawsuit, Francisco alleges he was exposed to Roundup after using the product for at least 10 years, between 2007 and 2017, on his own properties in Bisbee and Sierra Vista, Ariz. Francisco was later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in September 2015.

Claudia, Francisco’s wife, is bringing a claim for loss of consortium to seek compensation for the loss of Francisco’s “support, services, love, companionship, affection, society, intimate relations, and other elements of consortium.”

Defendant Monsanto Company is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. and is a well-known, multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation.

Link Between Roundup and Cancer Facts

The Roundup and cancer lawsuit alleges that the active ingredient in the manufacturer’s product, glyphosate, is linked to an increased risk of cancer and particularly non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Glyphosate’s herbicidal properties were discovered by a Monsanto chemist in 1970. By the mid-1970s, Monsanto had developed and begun to market Roundup as the first glyphosate-based herbicide for consumer use. Since then and through today, the plaintiffs claim, Monsanto markets Roundup as safe to use.

According to the Roundup and cancer lawsuit, the plaintiffs cite a report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, of a link between Roundup and cancer. The IARC is an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) that issues several evaluations on herbicides, including glyphosate, used in the defendant’s Roundup product.

The report was based on multiple studies of exposure to glyphosate worldwide. Researchers concluded and characterized glyphosate as a Group 2A herbicide and characterized glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

According to Francisco and Claudia’s Roundup lawsuit, the IARC found that “the cancers most associated with glyphosate exposure are non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other haematopoietic cancers, including lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.”

Nevertheless, the Roundup and cancer lawsuit claims, Monsanto continues to misrepresent the safety and efficacy for Roundup, disregarding information pertaining to the link between Roundup and cancer. The plaintiffs claim Monsanto continues to promote Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate as posing no unreasonable adverse health effects to the environment or to consumers.

According to the Roundup and cancer lawsuit, Roundup has been used in farms internationally for more than 40 years and has been marketed without the public knowing of the dangers the product poses.

Moreover, the Roundup and cancer lawsuit contends that Monsanto Company had known “for decades that it falsely advertises the safety of Roundup.”

The plaintiffs say the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Company in 1996 alleging that the company falsely and misleadingly represented the Roundup product. That same year, Monsanto entered an Assurance of Discontinuance with the attorney general stating that it will “cease and desist from publishing” information marketing “its glyphosate containing pesticide products or any component thereof are safe, non-toxic, harmless or free from risk.”

The Roundup and Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 4:17-cv-00312-JR, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

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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