A man from California has been awarded $332 million in a lawsuit against Monsanto Co. The lawsuit claimed that the man’s cancer was caused by his use of the company’s Roundup weedkiller for many years.
Mike Dennis, 57, from Carlsbad, was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020. He filed the lawsuit contending that his illness was directly related to the active ingredient, glyphosate, in Roundup.
Although Dennis has undergone treatment and has been in remission for nearly three years, there is no cure for his condition. His attorneys mentioned that his doctors have informed him that the cancer may come back.
The jury ruled in favor of Dennis, stating that Monsanto, now a division of Bayer, failed to provide adequate warnings of the risks associated with Roundup. However, the jury also found that the product design was not defective and that the company was not negligent.
Dennis was awarded $7 million in compensatory damages and $325 million in punitive damages.
In response to the verdict, Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, stated that they believe the decision is unfounded and they plan to appeal. They also mentioned that they believe there were legal and evidentiary errors during the trial.
It’s worth noting that Bayer acquired Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018 and has been dealing with numerous claims and lawsuits related to Roundup. In an effort to settle these cases, Bayer announced in 2020 that it would pay up to $10.9 billion to resolve around 125,000 claims.
