CARLSBAD, Calif. – A California man has been awarded $332 million in a lawsuit against Monsanto Co., claiming that his cancer was caused by the company’s Roundup weedkiller. The verdict was reached by a San Diego Superior Court jury on Tuesday.
The plaintiff, Mike Dennis, a 57-year-old resident of Carlsbad, was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020. He alleged that his illness was directly linked to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.
Although Dennis has been in remission for nearly three years after receiving treatment, there is still no cure for his condition, according to his attorney, Adam Peavy.
The jury found that Monsanto, now a division of Bayer, had failed to provide sufficient warnings regarding the risks associated with Roundup. However, the jurors also ruled in Bayer’s favor by determining that the product design was not defective and that the company was not negligent.
Dennis was granted $7 million in compensatory damages and an additional $325 million in punitive damages.
Bayer, which acquired Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018, expressed its intent to appeal the verdict and overturn the excessive damage award. The company cited “significant and reversible legal and evidentiary errors” during the trial.
In efforts to address the thousands of lawsuits related to Roundup, Bayer previously announced a settlement of up to $10.9 billion in 2020, covering approximately 125,000 claims.
This case adds to the ongoing controversy surrounding Roundup and its potential health effects. Despite the jury’s decision, further scientific research and legal battles are likely to continue in the future. Roundup remains widely used, and its safety is still a subject of debate.
In summary, a California jury awarded $332 million to a man who claimed that his cancer was caused by Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller. The verdict holds Monsanto accountable for not providing sufficient warnings, although Bayer, the parent company, was deemed not negligent. Bayer plans to appeal the decision, while the debate over Roundup’s safety and potential health risks continues.