What’s Next For the Cancer Causing Weed Killer?
In the first of an untold number of lawsuits against Monsanto to go to trial, a jury in San Francisco concluded back in August that Roundup, the controversial agrochemical company’s popular herbicide, likely caused the plaintiff to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer. The jury ordered the Monsanto corporatiion to pay $289 million in damages. The plaintiff, Dewayne Lee Johnson, developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after repeatedly using the dangerous herbicide for years as a groundskeeper in California. Johnson was awarded $39 million in compensatory damages to cover pain, suffering and medical bills due to negligence by Monsanto, as well as an additional $250 million in punitive damages.
What Does This Mean?
The jury assigned to Mr. Johnson’s lawsuit wanted to punish the Monsanto corporation because they believed the company deliberately and actively withheld the fact that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the popular Herbicide known as Roundup, was a carcinogen from the public. The amount of the compensation that was awarded to Johnson indicates that the jury was not convinced by Monsanto’s expert witnesses. Product liability lawsuits are an increasingly popular part of the American lifestyle. There is no shortage of examples of companies that have knowingly added toxic ingredients to their products, so it is important that there is a process for the  individuals who have been harmed to hold these corporations accountable.
On the Other Hand
On the other side of that argument, a damaging lawsuit can be brought against any company for a myriad of reasons, and some may be entirely frivolous. It is an unfortunate indictment on the state of our health care system that so many people today are without any proper medical insurance. If something goes wrong and they require medical care, they must seek money to deal with it somehow. In most cases the simple fact of the matter is that it is unknown whether a product and its contents are a danger until something illness begins to affect the customers who use that product on a regular basis. This Roundup verdict is just the first in what will surely be a long legal battle over Roundup as the news spreads and more and more people begin to connect symptoms they have or illnesses they have been diagnosed with to the company’s unsafe agricultural products. The Monsanto Corporation will undoubetdly appeal the court’s decision in this matter, and in reality it will probably be a matter of some years before this issue has truly been settled. Now that the initial verdict is out, however, hundreds of other lawsuits are sure to follow.
Filing a legal claim for damages related to diseases that have been linked to the repeated use of glyphosate or other conditions can be both terrifying and frustrating. You will most likely need to hire a qualified, reputable personal injury lawyer if you need legal representation. Your attorney can help review the facts of your case and can help determine what your next steps should be. We here at the Brady Law Group do not shy away from difficult or complex cases and we go to any necessary lengths to protect the rights of our clients. If you have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma or other cancer after being exposed to Roundup weed killer and would like more information about whether you might have a potential Roundup lawsuit in a free consultation, please reach out to our law firm by calling (866) 211-2562 as soon as possible.
