This week, Roundup was again in the news because agricultural giant Bayer AG, which was acquired by Monsanto in 2018, would pay over $10 billion to settle thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits. The claims allege that Roundup, a popular herbicide made by Monsanto, is carcinogenic.
Attorneys feel strongly for the many people who have become ill after using Roundup, a product that the manufacturer insists is safe for customers to use. Contact roundup lawsuit attorneys.
According to the plaintiffs, Roundup is a cancer risk.
The herbicide Roundup is widely used because of its advertised effectiveness against noxious weeds and grasses in both residential and commercial settings. Nonetheless, concerns about the product’s security have been raised for quite some time. The active ingredient in Roundup Bayer herbicide is glyphosate, an organophosphorus chemical at the center of the issue.
Earlier research by the United States National Institutes of Health did not find a connection between glyphosate and increased cancer risk. However, the federal agency did note that the evidence was weaker at higher doses.
Labeling products containing glyphosate as carcinogenic has been deemed a “false claim” by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which sided with Monsanto.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research reported in 2015 that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Over 125,000 people have filed lawsuits against Monsanto, claiming that non-lymphoma Hodgkin’s they developed was caused by Roundup. As the plaintiffs see it, Bayer AG (and Monsanto before them) disregarded warnings that Roundup includes dangerous chemicals and failed to notify consumers about the hazards associated with using the product.
There have been three high-profile cases won by individuals alleging that Roundup caused their cancer. Trials in many other cases were supposed to occur this year, but settlement negotiations and the COVID-19 outbreak pushed them back.
Why does Bayer AG have to Settle?
Bayer AG, which inherited lawsuits from its purchase of Monsanto, has indicated it wants to put those lawsuits in the past without admitting guilt or culpability. The company’s official position is that it wishes to “concentrate entirely” on the “important provision of health care and food.” Bayer will pay between $10.1 and $10.9 billion to end the litigation against them or about $9 billion of the total sum.
According to The New York Times, on June 24, the parties involved in this agreement announced it was “among the largest settlements” ever achieved in U.S. civil litigation.
