A jury in San Francisco has awarded $289 million to a former California school groundskeeper who alleged that his exposure to Roundup, the world’s most popular weed killer, contributed to his terminal cancer.
The case was the first Roundup lawsuit to go to trial in the United States and could set a precedent for thousands of similar cases that accuse Monsanto of failing to warn consumers that exposure to Roundup may cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers.
Plaintiff Sprayed Roundup 20-to-30 Times Per Year Prior to Cancer Diagnosis
According to his complaint, Dewayne Johnson, 46, sprayed Roundup and Ranger Pro, another glyphosate-based herbicide manufactured by Monsanto, on fields between 20 and 30 times per year during his tenure as a groundskeeper for a San Francisco Bay Area school district.
Gusty winds frequently left his face coated with the product. In 2012, he was soaked with the weed killer when a hose broke.
Among other things, Johnson testified that he contacted Monsanto after developing a rash. However, he was never warned that Roundup could cause cancer.
Jury Found Monsanto Acted with Malice and Oppression
Johnson — the father of 2 boys — was diagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014.
Lesions now cover about 80% of his body, and on many days, he is too ill to even speak. He has been given just 6 months to live.
Johnson’s case, which was filed in San Francisco Superior Court in 2016, was fast-tracked for trial because of his terminal illness.
Jurors deliberated for 3 days before returning a verdict in his favor on Friday, ordering Monsanto to pay Johnson and his family $39 million in compensatory damages, as well as $250 million in punitive damages for acting with malice and oppression in its handling of Roundup.
“This case is way bigger than me,” Johnson said after the jury’s verdict was announced. “I hope it gets the attention that it needs.”
More than 4,000 Roundup Cancer Lawsuits Awaiting Trial
More than 4,000 people across the United States are pursuing similar Roundup lawsuits.
Like Johnson, they allege that Monsanto was aware that glyphosate posed a cancer risk as far back as the 1970s, but engaged in a deliberate effort to distort the truth rather than warn the public.
Monsanto – which was acquired by Bayer earlier this year – denies that Roundup causes cancer.
However, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015, specifically linking the herbicide to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including its various subtypes such as lymphocytic lymphoma / chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell lymphoma, hairy cell leukemia, and others.
California added glyphosate to its list of chemicals known to cause cancer that same year.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a contradictory – and highly controversial – conclusion in 2017.
Were You or a Loved One Diagnosed with Cancer Following Exposure to Roundup? Contact Our Undefeated Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation by Calling 1-888-603-3636 or by Clicking Here.
Our Undefeated Personal Injury Lawyers are investigating the alleged link between Roundup and cancer, and will post additional updates as this litigation progresses and new information becomes available.
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If you or a loved one were diagnosed with cancer that could be associated with exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup or Ranger Pro glyphosate weed killers, call 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here to send us a confidential email via our “Contact Us” form.
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