Roundup Cancer: Understanding the Class Action Lawsuit

Exposure to Roundup, Monsanto’s popular weed killer, has been linked to cancer in those who have used the product in farming or landscaping.

After multinational pharmaceutical giant Bayer paid $63 billion to acquire Monsanto in 2018, the company also inherited all of Monsanto’s ongoing litigation relating to Roundup. On June 24, 2020, Bayer announced that it will pay out between $8.8 billion and $9.6 billion to “resolve” existing Roundup lawsuits. The company has also budgeted $1.25 billion to address future Roundup claims. In this resolution, Bayer admits no wrongdoing. Individuals who accept the settlement will be required to either dismiss their cases or agree not to file a lawsuit. Part of the company’s assessment for settling these cases factored in the expense of defending itself against lawsuits, the damage to its reputation these lawsuits would create, and uncertainty about how juries would rule.

If you or a loved one have used Roundup and been diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness, we recommend seeking proper legal counsel for justice after your ordeal.

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Our law firm does not handle these types of cases. If you need assistance, please consult with a qualified attorney who practices in this area of law.

Victims Taking Legal Action

When an illness is related to Roundup exposure, Bayer is nonetheless highly unlikely to admit liability. A cancer victim has an uphill fight in attempting to recover any compensation from a massive corporation with unlimited resources. That’s why you need experienced legal counsel with a strong track record in handling these severe cases.

Roundup lawsuits often focus on glyphosate, the active ingredient in the product, glyphosate. In March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an intergovernmental agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen.”

In coordination with medical experts, a product liability attorney is fully equipped to conduct an investigation into your use of Roundup, and in so doing, determine if a connection between glyphosate and your ailments exists. A knowledgeable lawyer can help guide you in the litigation path most beneficial to you. With thousands of Roundup cases already pending throughout the country, new Roundup claims could involve either class action lawsuits or multidistrict litigation (MDL).

In a class-action lawsuit, a large group of similarly affected plaintiffs seek compensation through a single legal action, and any award is equally distributed to all class members. With MDL, plaintiffs retain control of individual lawsuits, but one federal judge presides over all cases after they are consolidated from around the country into a single jurisdiction.

Who is at Risk?

Some of the most common Roundup users include groundskeepers, nursery employees, landscapers, farmworkers, and garden center employees. Many backyard consumers can also face possible consequences of more occasional Roundup use.

While the IARC classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen, Bayer is quick to point out that this is not the same conclusion reached by the EPA. In April 2019, the EPA said it was taking the next step in its review of glyphosate. At the same time, the agency reaffirmed that glyphosate is not a carcinogen and posed no risks to public health when the chemical is used in accordance with its current label.

Glyphosate, however, has been connected to such cancers as B-Cell lymphoma, T-Cell Lymphomas, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), and other certain subtypes of NHL.

Roundup Lawsuits in the News

Reuters reported on May 16, 2019, that Bayer was betting on a so-called silver bullet defense that thousands of lawsuits could be tossed because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that the herbicide is not a public health risk. Legal experts believed that it could still take several years before the company can present such an argument to the Supreme Court because appellate courts were probably less likely to throw out verdicts on those grounds.

Roundup cases have already resulted in three significant California jury verdicts. In August 2018, a San Francisco jury awarded $289 million (later reduced to $78 million) to a former school groundskeeper dying of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Roundup on the job. In March 2019, a federal court civil jury in San Francisco awarded a California man $80 million for cancer caused by over 25 years of Roundup use.

In May 2019, a jury in Oakland awarded $55 million for pain and suffering and $2 billion in punitive damages to a couple diagnosed with cancer after using Roundup. This case is on appeal.

It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to create a quality product and sufficiently test it to be sure that it poses no risk to consumers. Court verdicts thus far, however, demonstrate that Roundup users battling cancer can obtain major damage awards from juries.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Roundup

With that commitment in mind, we have provided answers to some of the questions commonly raised to help offer more clarity on this popular topic.

How much glyphosate is used in the United States?

According to Consumer Reports, glyphosate use has increased tenfold over the last 20 years. A study reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found glyphosate residues on about 90 percent of 300 soybean samples. A separate study entitled “Trends in glyphosate herbicide use in the United States and globally” published in Environmental Sciences Europe in 2016 reported that two-thirds of the total volume of glyphosate applied in the United States from 1974 to 2014 was sprayed in just the past 10 years.

Is the same amount of glyphosate found in all Roundup products?

Various Roundup products contain different amounts of glyphosate.

Roundup Extended Control, Roundup Precision Gel, and Roundup Ready-to-Use Poison Ivy all contain one percent glyphosate, while Roundup Ready-to-Use Weed & Grass Killer is only two percent glyphosate.

Roundup Poison Ivy Concentrate Plus, Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Concentrate Plus, Roundup Max Control 365 Concentrate, and Roundup Extended Control Concentrate all contain 18 percent glyphosate, but Roundup Original is 41 percent glyphosate,

Roundup ProMAX is 48.7 percent glyphosate, Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Super Concentrate is 50.2 percent glyphosate, Roundup PRO Concentrate is 50.2 percent glyphosate, Roundup Custom is 53.8 percent glyphosate, and Roundup QuikPRO is 73.3 percent glyphosate.

Are there any other studies that have connected Roundup to cancer?

In 2016, a study sponsored by Monsanto published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Health reported a 30 percent increase in the risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but stated that a causal relationship had not been established between glyphosate exposure and “risk of any type of” lymphohematopoietic cancer (LHC).

A 2014 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reported there was twice the risk of development of B-cell lymphoma in people exposed to glyphosate at work.

A 2008 study in the International Journal of Cancer found that glyphosate increased the risk of B-cell lymphoma by 87 percent and more than doubled a person’s risk for developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

A 2003 study published in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine section of BMJ Journals found a 10 percent increased non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma incidence associated with living or working on a farm as an adult. It also found that subjects who reported using any five or more “potentially carcinogenic” pesticides were twice as likely to be non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases than controls.

A 2002 study published in Leukemia & Lymphoma found increased risks in univariate analysis for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and hairy cell leukemia in subjects exposed to herbicides, and significant associations were found for glyphosate.