Bayer recently bought Monsanto and produces the popular weed killer Roundup. The company has been under great pressure to settle cases, or at least avoid another round of trials.
The first three visits to the courtroom netted Bayer zero wins in cases where plaintiffs accused the company of producing and advertising a highly dangerous chemical despite the known risks to the public.
So, a legal precedent has been set for non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL) sufferers and they have been awarded millions of dollars after proving Monsanto knew the risks.
News reports about glyphosate exposure and its cancer risks have flooded the media ever since the Johnson vs Monsanto verdict. Besides this, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) also reported that high levels of glyphosate were detected in children's cereals such as Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and Cheerios.
This added on to the glyphosate fear and meanwhile, other sources such as CBS reported various food products that contained glyphosate in levels higher than what was considered safe by scientists.
The jury in Johnson's case was considering the herbicide formulations such as Roundup Pro and Ranger Pro to which he was exposed on the job and not glyphosate alone.
This is a landmark case that demonstrated Monsanto Corporation's negligence in revealing the danger in favor of their profit. Monsanto is continuing to face similar cases and there are more than 4,000 cases filed across the US.
Though the jury passed a verdict with certainty that Dewayne Johnson's cancer was caused by exposure to Roundup, scientists continue their research as they are not bound by legal rules or the pressure of rendering verdicts on time.
Glyphosate is the main ingredient used in Roundup weed killer, by far the most widely used herbicide in the world. In March 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) revealed that the key ingredient of Roundup-glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic to humans." Following this, there are several ongoing studies on glyphosate and cancer.
Apart from Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, glyphosate has been linked with other disorders such as:
According to a scientific review article published in 2014, there has been an unprecedented increase in the reported cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The use of pesticides and herbicides, particularly glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup is the major contributing factor to the increasing number of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases.
The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a paper that included reviews and meta-analyses examining the link between occupational exposure to 80 active ingredients of pesticides and 21 chemical groups.
The 2014 study on glyphosate-related cancer reconciled that farmworkers have low mortality rates but more incidents of cancer.
This contradiction is because of Roundup exposure according to researchers and moreover, the Roundup cancer study established that glyphosate exposure doubles an individual's risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
In addition, the study also found that glyphosate exposure was particularly linked to B-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
A few older studies that involved research on occupational glyphosate exposure have also found increased incidences of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma:
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer and has a history of using Roundup, Atraxia Law can help. We help people like yourself, who have been involved with challenging personal injuries, find out if they potentially qualify to file a claim. The experienced and knowledgeable team of experts at Atraxia Law will carefully go over your specific injury situation and determine if you meet the preliminary requirements for a Roundup claim.