A San Francisco jury found the firm had been "negligent by not using reasonable care" to warn of the risks of its product, ordering it to pay Edwin Hardeman $75 million in punitive damages, $5.6 million in compensation and $200,000 for medical expenses.
ADVERTISEMENT
Monsanto ordered to pay $81 mn in Roundup cancer trial
Monsanto was ordered on Wednesday to pay some $81 million to an American retiree who blames his cancer on the agribusiness giant's weedkiller Roundup.
A San Francisco jury found that Roundup's design was defective and that the product lacked sufficient warnings of potential risk
Recommended articles
![Dog on a plane (image used for illustrative purpose) [Shutterstock]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'100'%20height%3D'100'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Dog on a plane (image used for illustrative purpose) [Shutterstock]")
The jury also found that Roundup's design was defective and that the product lacked sufficient warnings of potential risk.
The same jury previously found that a quarter century exposure to Roundup, whose principal ingredient is controversial chemical glyphosate, was a "substantial factor" in giving the 70-year-old Hardeman non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Hardeman's attorneys, who cheered and hugged their client as the verdict was announced, said they were pleased the jury had unanimously ruled in his favor and that Monsanto was being held accountable for its actions.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It is clear from Monsanto's actions that it does not care whether Roundup causes cancer, focusing instead on manipulating public opinion and undermining anyone who raises genuine and legitimate concerns about Roundup," attorneys Aimee Wagstaff and Jennifer Moore said in a statement.
"It speaks volumes that not one Monsanto employee, past or present, came live to trial to defend Roundup's safety or Monsanto's actions.
"Today, the jury resoundingly held Monsanto accountable for its 40 years of corporate malfeasance and sent a message to Monsanto that it needs to change the way it does business."
'Back against the wall'
The case is one of more than 11,200 similar cases in the US alone involving Roundup.
ADVERTISEMENT
Monsanto, which was bought by Bayer for $63 billion, has consistently denied that the weedkiller causes cancer and challenged findings by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), which classified glyphosate as a "probable carcinogen" in 2015.
The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, cheered the verdict.
"Clearly, the testimony that informed the jury's decision was Bayer-Monsanto hiding Roundup's carcinogenic properties, manipulating the science and cozying-up with EPA so it would not have to warn consumers of its dangerous product," said the group's president Ken Cook.
"Bayer-Monsanto has known for decades the cancer-causing properties of Roundup and I applaud the jury for holding the company accountable for failing to warn consumers of the known danger."
"This verdict puts Bayer's back firmly up against the wall as the cost of litigation mounts and its stock price gets pummeled once again," he added.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh
Recommended articles
Police arrest 1 person in connection with Odumasi-Badu Road robbery in Bono Region
Asantehene urges government to involve private sector in GRIDCo, ECG, VRA and others
Robbery attack claims life of University of Energy and Natural Resources student
11 out of PNC's 16-member NEC resign, form new party called PNP
Informal workers beg for cash to cope with cost of living crisis — Report
Report reveals 850,000 Ghanaians pushed into poverty by gov't debt and market closures
'Businessman' remanded over robbery of former second lady and others at gunpoint
Efforts underway to bring jailed ex-MASLOC CEO to Ghana to serve prison term - Deputy AG
![Police officers questioned the woman (image used for illustrative purpose [Adobe Stock]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'300'%20height%3D'172'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Police officers questioned the woman (image used for illustrative purpose [Adobe Stock]")