Recently, a federal jury ordered Monsanto to pay $80 million to 70-year-old Edwin Hardeman, who got diagnosed with cancer after using their weed killer for 26 years. The weed killer in question, Roundup, is a glyphosate-based herbicide that Hardeman regularly used on his 56-acre property before getting diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The jury came to the conclusion that Roundup was a substantial factor in his cancer diagnosis.
Hardeman got his NHL diagnosis in 2015, one year before the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer announced that glyphosate, the ingredient used in Roundup, is a Group 2A probable carcinogen. A 2A categorization indicates that while there is limited evidence of cancer in humans, there is sufficient evidence of cancer in experiments conducted on animals.
This is the second case to go to trial against Monsanto for their glyphosate-based herbicide. In August 2018, a separate California jury ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages after a school groundskeeper who regularly used Roundup was diagnosed with NHL. Johnson’s case was brought to trial quickly due to the severity of his cancer: doctors who treated him say it is unlikely that he will live past 2020.
Glyphosate is the most popular herbicide in the United States and is used globally. Well over a dozen other countries have issued outright bans or restrictions on using glyphosate, including the United Kingdom, Spain, New Zealand, India, and Canada, because of its potential adverse health effects. While there is no nationwide ban in the United States, there are a number of cities and counties within the states that have enacted their own bans.
Despite these two cases and the piling up of over 5,000 similar lawsuits, Monsanto continues to reject the notion that Roundup causes cancer and plans to file an appeal on the verdict.
If you or a loved one has developed cancer after being exposed to glyphosates, please give the lawyers at Childers, Schlueter, & Smith a call at 800-641-0098 or fill out our online contact form. All initial inquiries are free of charge and without obligation.
A partner with Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC,, Brandon Smith has devoted his practice to pharmaceutical litigation, mass torts, products liability and serious personal injury. A frequent guest speaker at legal seminars all over the country—Brandon is focused on helping injured victims nationwide, however possible. Named a SuperLawyer again in 2019, he has also been called out as one of 10 Best Attorneys For Georgia by the American Institute Of Personal Injury Attorneys and a Top 100 Lawyer in Georgia by the National Trial Lawyers in 2019.
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