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Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit

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Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit

UPDATE: August 10, 2018 – A state court jury in California just returned a verdict in a case against Monsanto and their herbicide “Roundup,” awarding the plaintiff DeWayne Johnson, a school groundskeeper, $288 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Gardeners, farmers and others who have used Monsanto Roundup to kill weeds should be aware of a lawsuit that is claiming that Monsanto, manufacturer of insecticides and herbicides, failed to warn users of Roundup of the increased chance they will develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma or other forms of cancer.

The Roundup lawsuit asserts that Monsanto has known for more than 30 years that the use of Roundup can cause cancers. However, the company decided not to inform the public and continued to claim that the product was safe and non-toxic to humans, pets, and other animals.

Records used to prosecute the Monsanto class action lawsuit shows that the company created fake data and attacked legitimate studies that warned of the dangers of the product. The Roundup lawsuit also claims that the company promoted a campaign with the purpose of misleading government agencies, farmers, and individuals who use the product that it was safe.

The Monsanto class action suit is litigation in which a few individuals battle for the interest of many individuals who may not have a lawyer and who are not named in the suit. The decision of the court affects all persons who are considered a part of the class action.

What is Roundup Exactly?

Marketed since 1974, Roundup is an herbicide that includes glyphosate, which Monsanto determined could be used in its herbicides in 1970.

Since the 1970s, the frequency of use of glyphosate-based herbicides has jumped 10,000 percent. Moreover, each year farmers, commercial nurseries, gardeners and groundskeepers of parks and golf courses have used about 250 million pounds of glyphosate.

Scientific studies in which normal human lymphocytes are exposed to Roundup in a test tube have shown damage to DNA as early as 1998. In addition, Dr. Fernando Manas, a biologist at the National University of Rio Cuarto in Argentina, discovered evidence of DNA damage after studying people who were employed in the soy industry and who were exposed to pesticides that used glyphosate. And a study performed by the Pontifical Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador of residents of northern Ecuador exposed to Roundup were found to have developed various health issues including abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, heart palpitations, blurred vision, insomnia, numbness and headaches as well as DNA damage.

The National Scientific Research Center and the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in France discovered in a study performed in 2004 that Roundup caused changes in the cell division of sea urchin embryos and the scientists found a direct link to the errors and the development of cancer due to the cumulative amounts of Roundup.

Moreover, the International Agency for Research on Cancer reported in March 2015 that exposure to Roundup can cause cancer. The report was based on studies that were performed since 2001 on the affects of glyphosate on agricultural workers. The studies discovered that the rate of workers with non-Hodgkin lymphoma was higher in those exposed to Roundup than those who were not.

What Kind Of Cancer Does Roundup Cause?

Cancers developed due to exposure to glyphosate as far as the Monsanto class action lawsuit is concerned include non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, B-cell lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. Studies show that as many as 70,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma each year. Symptoms of the disease include fever, night sweats, swollen lymph nodes, stomach and chest pain and loss of appetite. B-cell lymphoma is the most common form of the disease and accounts for up to 90 percent of all cases.

Other types of cancer that Roundup has been linked to include (but are not limited to):

  • Brain
  • Breast
  • Prostate
  • Lung
  • Blood

Chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, biological therapy, and radiation are the most common treatments for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In addition to causing cancers, glyphosate has also been known to cause other health problems including:

  • Kidney Disease
  • Liver Damage
  • Austism
  • Colitis
  • Diabetes
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) (also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”)
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Male Sterility
  • Respiratory Disorders

More than 1,100 Roundup lawsuits have been filed across the United States on behalf of victims of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit In-the-News Updates

Interests in personal injury lawsuits concerning the affects of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide and its link to Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, B-cell Lymphoma, Leukemia, and Multiple Myeloma cancers have increased since the beginning of 2017.

In January, a California judge ruled that the state could require Roundup to carry a warning label that the weed killer may cause cancer. This action was taken despite Monsanto’s attempts to appeal the decision. The company continues to assert that glyphosate, the main ingredient of the herbicide, is safe and is not a threat to the health of humans.

Roundup Lawsuits 2017

Roundup lawsuits have been filed across the United States claiming that Monsanto has known about the link between cancers and glyphosate for more than 30 years. However, despite this, the company has not warned the public and continues to market its product as being as safe as table salt and non-toxic to humans, pets, birds, and fish.

During the many litigations so far Monsanto internal company documents have been introduced that show the company has been creating fake data and has attacked the legitimate studies that have exposed the dangers of Roundup weed killer. The company has even initiated disinformation campaigns to persuade government agencies as well as the people who have used the product including farmers and the general population that the herbicide is safe. There is even an occasion in which Monsanto colluded with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rebut evidence that shows the connection between Roundup and cancer.

History Of The Monsanto Roundup Lawsuits

Founded in 1901, Monsanto is a multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that manufactures glyphosate-based herbicides including Roundup weed killer.

In 1970, Monsanto discovered that glyphosate can be used as a major ingredient of its herbicides and it began to make products and market them in 1974. Since its introduction, glyphosate-based herbicides have jumped 10,000-percent in use. Moreover, each year about 250 million pounds of glyphosate are applied to crops, commercial nurseries, lawns, driveways, sidewalks, parks and golf courses. Much of the increase in use of glyphosate has been blamed on Monsanto’s expansion in the sale of Monsanto’s genetically modified crops that have been sold as “Roundup Ready” seeds. Monsanto has designed these seeds to produce crops that resist the killing power of glyphosate.

A variety of people including farm workers, gardeners, professional landscapers; and employees of garden centers, and nurseries have been exposed to the herbicide while breathing in the spray or vapors of the substance, cleaning up gardens, or through drinking water or eating food contaminated with it.

About 70,000 people are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma per year. Symptoms of the disease include fever, night sweats, swollen lymph nodes, stomach pain, chest pain, and loss of appetite. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma comes in three forms -– B-cell lymphoma, T-cell, and NK-cell. B-cell accounts for 90 percent of all cases; T-cell is blamed for about 10 percent of cases, and NK-cell is responsible for less than 1 percent of cases.

Chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, biological therapy and radiation are treatments used to combat the disease.

Please seek the advice of a medical professional before making health care decisions.
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