$80 Million in Damages is Small Consolation for Round-Up Victims

As we are fond of saying out here in the country, the chickens have come home to roost.

In two separate incidents in just a little over seven months, a United States jury has determined that twenty years of scientific study and research clearly establishes and outlines a very real link between cancer and Monsanto’s little darlings, their product line of Roundup glyphosate-based weed killers that are frequently utilized by those who work in large scale industrialized farming, smaller community farmers, landscapers, groundkeepers, and home gardeners en masse. Two times now, jurors have also confirmed that Monsanto’s own internal documents unequivocally show that the nefarious chemical corporation has purposefully molded public records in an effort to conceal the dangers that are associated with their herbicides and cancer. Both of the juries ruled that punitive damages in each case were justified due to the fact that Monsanto’s deception concerning the cancer risks associated with its product was an extreme act of neglect.

Two Juries, One Verdict

Both of the juries were made privy to proof that Monsanto had ghost-written certain scientific research, attempted to hush scientists who wanted to speak out, eschewed independent government and scientific research and testing, and ingratiated itself to United States government regulators in order to receive positive safety reports of the Roundup line’s main ingredient, glyphosate.

Even United States District Judge for the Northern District of California Vince Chhabria, who presided over the trial that wrapped up just two short weeks ago with an award for damages to the tune of $80.2 million going to the plaintiff, had some very sharp words for the chemical giant. Chhabria stated that there were big chunks of evidence proving that the corporation’s herbicides are capable of causing cancer. He further asserted that there was an abundance of proof that the Monsanto corporation has made no effort to adopt a responsible, unbiased way of dealing with the hazards of its merchandise and doesn’t even really seem to care whether or not its merchandise is promoting cancer growth in people who did not previously have it, preferring to concentrate instead on shaping public policies and strongarming anybody who dares to raise honest and reasonable worries regarding the issue.

Monsanto’s new handler, the German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company Bayer, is assuring anyone who will listen that the judges and juries are definitely wrong, claiming that the data that draws the correlations between glyphosate and the increased likelihood of developing cancer is invalid. Bayer feels that what appears to be evidence of corporate misconduct is actually valid information that has been misconstrued and taken out of context. The company, they claim, will eventually come out on top.

Projected Total

In the meantime, critics of Monsanto are rejoicing in their victories and hoping for future triumphs as the potential hat trick court case is set to begin this week. Behind this third lawsuit, 11,000 more plaintiffs eagerly anticipate their turn in front of the California jury box. In addition to all of this upheaval, an increasing number of businesses and neighborhoods are shying away from any use of the Roundup herbicides. Likewise, investors are penalizing Bayer by driving Thursday’s stock prices to the lowest they have been in seven years.

Tom Claps, an analyst from the Susquehanna International Group, has cautioned shareholders to prepare for a universal settlement amount of somewhere between $2.5 billion and $4.5 billion.

Claps made a statement saying that they do not think that Monsanto is going to lose each and every case, but they do predict that they are going to lose a significant portion of them.

Monsanto Still Isn’t Paying

In the wake of the current courtroom triumphs, some people have delighted in the idea that the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation is, at last, being forced to answer for its greed and malfeasance in a very financial way. However, by selling itself to Bayer in the summer of 2018 for a staggering $63 billion what seemed like mere moments before the glyphosate cancer lawsuits began making their courtroom appearances, corporate officials were crafty enough to stroll casually past the judicial chaos, carefully avoiding eye contact with Bayer, their pockets lined with gold. Hugh Grant, Monsanto chairman, boasted an exit package that enabled him to leave with a cool $32 million.

Among the noises of anger, disbelief, and excitement and the din of courtroom conflicts, a much bigger issue is waiting. Monsanto’s efforts to make the use of their glyphosate-based Roundup brand herbicides so ubiquitous that trace amounts are routinely found in the food we consume and even in our various biological fluids. This is only a single display of just how many corporate titans are bringing about permanent human health issues and environmental catastrophes across the globe. Monsanto, Bayer, and their ilk have honed in on farmers specifically as a crucial cash cow for their insecticides, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. Sadly, in spite of current events, many farmers across the world do not think that they will be able to successfully farm without the aid of the toxic products.

Corporate Capture

Recent scientific research demonstrates that these pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, furthered by Monsanto, Bayer, and DowDuPont, among additional behemoth-like corporations, are jeopardizing the very existence of our wildlife, ruining the health of our soil, destroying the quality of our water, and outright slaughtering the overall life-long practicality and feasibility of our country’s food production as well as our ability to feed ourselves as a nation. Still, government regulators have enabled these companies to join powers, making them even larger, more dominant, and more capable of driving the actions taken by the government when it comes to issues that promote and further their interests.

Elizabeth Warren, the current senator from Massachusetts and Democratic presidential candidate, called for help this week in taking back a bit of that same power. On Wednesday, she announced a proposal to split up huge agribusinesses and fight against the sort of corporate capture of Washington D.C. that the world has witnessed so much of in the past few years.

It’s a big move in a good direction, but no amount of awarded damages can ever make up for all of the pain and suffering that these cancer victims have endured, nor quickly convert a profoundly poisoned and diseased landscape into a healthy and thriving environment for us to live in.

Here at the Brady Law Group, we do not turn away from hard cases or cases in the public eye. We go to any lengths to stand up for the rights of our clients. If you would like a free, no-obligation consultation concerning a Roundup lawsuit you feel you have, then please reach out to our law firm by calling us at (866) 211-2562 today.