Jury decided glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide caused cancer, but company will appeal
A US jury has ordered Bayer–Monsanto to pay over $2 billion (£1.6 billion) to a Georgia man who alleges the company’s glyphosate-based Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer. The company says it will appeal the decision.
The jury’s verdict includes $2 billion in punitive damages and $65 million in compensatory damages. However, if this case follows the general trend of similar lawsuits, it is likely that the awarded damages will be drastically reduced or even overturned by the judge on appeal.
In 2019, for example, a jury awarded a couple more than $2 billion dollars in damages from Bayer–Monsanto, but that was later reduced to less than $87 million.
‘We disagree with the jury’s verdict, as it conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide,’ Bayer said in a statement. ‘We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned and the excessive and unconstitutional damage awards eliminated or reduced.’
Although Bayer agreed a settlement deal worth over $10 billion in June 2020 to resolve ongoing and address potential future Roundup litigation, there are still more than 60,000 active lawsuits against the company in this arena. The company said 114,000 of approximately 181,000 claims have been resolved or deemed to be ineligible, as of the end of January.
Monsanto ‘remains committed to trying cases,’ the company stated, saying that it has secured favourable outcomes in 17 of the last 25 trials. ‘We continue to stand fully behind the safety of Roundup products - critical tools that farmers rely on to produce affordable food and feed the world,’ Monsanto added.
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