Monsanto to pay $165M to former school employees over chemicals in light fixtures

Monsanto light fixtures verdict overview: 

• Who: Monsanto corporate spin-off Pharmacia LLC will pay $165 million to a group of former employees at Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington. 
• Why: The jury found the Monsanto spin-off company Pharmacia was liable for selling an unsafe product — polychlorinated biphenyls found in light fixtures — without providing adequate warning. 
• Where: The case was heard in King County Superior Court. 

Monsanto corporate spin-off Pharmacia LLC will pay former school employees $165 million after a Seattle jury delivered a verdict finding the company liable for selling unsafe lights without providing adequate warning to consumers.

The funds have been awarded to a group of former employees at Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington, who argued the school had light fixtures that contained a chemical produced by Monsanto that was slowly poisoning them, Law360 reports. 

The jury reportedly determined the Monsanto spin-off had injured a former school teacher and seven others who worked at the educational facility and who were exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) — a group of manmade chemicals Monsanto produced from 1935 to 1977. 

The group of former workers — including six school teachers, a librarian and a custodian — were awarded a total of $49.8 million in compensatory damages and $115.3 million in punitive damages, according to Law360. 

Monsanto to pay nearly $30M to deceased former Sky Valley Education Center employee’s estate

A total of $29.5 million was allocated from the funds to the estate of Sandra Johnson — one of the original plaintiffs — who died of cancer last year. Her attorneys reportedly attributed her death to past PCB exposure. 

The rest of the funds were allocated to the surviving group, Law360 reports. 

A Monsanto spokesperson reportedly said the company plans to appeal the verdict — which was handed down by a 12-person jury — while noting a pending appeal from a previous verdict could affect the decision in this case. 

The group of former Sky Valley employees argued Monsanto knew the PCBs were toxic and possibly fatal but continued selling them regardless, including to be used in light capacitors, according to Law360. 

Monsanto reportedly countered that it had studied the potential health effects of PCBs and had adequately warned its customers about potential hazards. 

In July, Monsanto was ordered to pay $72 million to a pair of former Sky Valley students who argued the company supplied the school with fluorescent light fixtures that exposed them to PCBs and caused them to develop chronic neurological injuries. 

Have you been exposed to dangerous chemicals at your workplace? Let us know in the comments. 

The Monsanto unsafe lights case is Heit, et al. v. Pharmacia LLC, Case No. 18-2-55641-4, in King County Superior Court. 

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