A jury from California ordered Monsanto Company to pay more than $2 billion in damages to a couple who sued on grounds of the Roundup weed killer causing their cancer.
This award is the latest in several court defeats for Monsanto regarding this weed killer. However, the company continues claiming that this glyphosate-based product has nothing to do with cancer.
Monsanto Has to Pay $2 Billion to the Damaged Couple
The legal team of the couple described the award as historic and claims that it totaled $2.055 billion after adding a bit more than $55 million in compensatory damages.
The jury saw documents showing that Monsanto has never been interested in finding out if their weed killer is safe or not, according to Brent Wisner, the plaintiff’s counsel.
Rather than investing in science, the company has given millions against science.
What the Company Has to Say?
In a statement from Bayer that owns Monsanto, they claim that they are disappointed with the decision and that they will appeal. They argue that the verdict was at odds with a US Environmental Protection Agency review on weed killers based on glyphosate.
Namely, they claim that the consensus among health regulators worldwide is that these products can be safely used and that glyphosate cannot cause cancer.
This verdict in the state court in Oakland, California was the third defeat for Bayer in cases that accused the chemicals from Roundup to be cancerous. Monsanto was also convicted in 2018 and 2019 of not taking the needed steps to warn users of the possible Roundup risks.
The attorney Michael Miller points out that unlike in the first two trials with Monsanto, where the judges limited the plaintiffs’ evidence, in this one, they could finally show the jury the pile of evidence that explain how Monsanto manipulates science, media, and regulatory agencies to go on with their agenda despite the harm being done to animals and humans with the usage of this harmful product.
The verdict was brought on the same day that Bayer admitted that Monsanto could have kept a list with key figures who were for or against pesticide use in European countries.
Bayer apologized after the news that Monsanto had a PR agency that had a list with French scientists, journalists, and politicians and their views on GMO and pesticides.
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