Roundup Weed Killer

Man Awarded $80 Million in Lawsuit Linking Roundup Weed Killer to Cancer

A California man argued that Monsanto’s Roundup products played a role in his stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder

A FEDERAL JURY ON Wednesday awarded a California man $80 million in damages after finding that a popular weed killer played a substantial role in his cancer.

Edwin Hardeman, 70, said he used Monsanto's Roundup products for more than 25 years and that it frequently got on his skin and face. He was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2015.

In the first phase of the trial last week, the six-person jury decided Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, played a significant role in Hardeman's cancer. On Wednesday, they further decided that Monsanto should be held liable for Hardeman's disease.

Bayer AG, Monstano's parent company, said it plans to appeal the verdict. Bayer shares fell over 12 percent after the jury's decision last week.

"We are disappointed with the jury's decision, but this verdict does not change the weight of over four decades of extensive science and the conclusions of regulators worldwide that support the safety of our glyphosate-based herbicides and that they are not carcinogenic," Bayer said in a statement.

The jury awarded Hardeman $5 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages.

"It is clear from Monsanto's actions that it does not care whether Roundup causes cancer, focusing instead on manipulating public opinion and undermining anyone who raises genuine and legitimate concerns about Roundup," Hardeman's attorneys said in a statement.

Hardeman's case is the first against Monsanto to be tried in federal court. Thousands of similar cases are pending at the federal and state level.

Bayer said that the verdict "has no impact on future cases and trials, as each one has its own factual and legal circumstances."

Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that glyphosate is safe when used properly, many cities and counties have taken their own steps to ban the chemical, including Los Angeles County last week.