Recent Verdicts Shed Light on the Power of Punitive Damages in Product Liability Cases
Philadelphia, San Diego, and St. Louis – Four separate products liability trials ended with large plaintiff verdicts in October and November 2023, highlighting the potential danger of punitive damages. Three of these verdicts were against Monsanto in Roundup weed killer cases, while the fourth was against Mitsubishi. The bulk of the awards, totaling $3 billion, was punitive damages alone. In Philadelphia, a jury awarded $175 million to a plaintiff who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Roundup for over 20 years. The jury found Monsanto liable for negligently designing Roundup and failing to warn consumers about … Read more