Roundup Cancer Verdict Hits Bayer For $2.25 Billion
The Lyon Firm is reviewing a recent Roundup cancer verdict that ordered Bayer to pay $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma from years of exposure to the weedkiller.
Our Toxic Exposure Lawyers have settled dozens of Roundup cancer cases and continue to take new cancer cases on behalf of plaintiffs nationwide. Contact Joe Lyon to discuss your legal options.
A jury in the Philadelphia found that a man’s non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer was the direct result of using Roundup for yard work for several years. The verdict hit Bayer for $2.25 billion, including $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages.
The huge amount of money is almost certainly to be reduced as much as 90 percent, though juries continue to send a clear message that they believe the producers and distributors of the popular weedkiller knew the health risks of their product and chose to minimize their warnings to consumers.
Bayer still admits wrongdoing in the courtroom and says this verdict awarded to the plaintiff “conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and worldwide regulatory and scientific assessments…”
Roundup is one of the most widely-used weedkillers in the United States, though the company ended sales for home use last year. Consumer health advocates, the WHO and a wealth of other data, however, tend to disagree. A World Health Organization report suggests glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, might cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer report said glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The Pennsylvania verdict comes after five other recent plaintiff wins last year by plaintiffs suing Bayer over Roundup. Around 165,000 personal injury claims have been made in the U.S. against Bayer. The company acquired Roundup for $63 billion in 2018. Most plaintiffs allege that the product caused them to develop non-Hodgkins lymphoma or other cancers.
In 2020, Bayer settled most of the pending Roundup cases for $9.6 billion but did not settle future cases and over 50,000 claims remain pending in court. More Roundup cancer trials are expected to begin in 2024.