A fourth trial scheduled over the herbicide Roundup has been postponed until next year after a St. Louis judge granted a delay requested by both parties in the lawsuit. That could indicate both sides are negotiating a settlement.
In this latest case, more than 18,000 people filed a class-action lawsuit against German drug and chemical company Bayer AG claiming the popular herbicide caused their cancer. Bayer has already lost three cases over Roundup’s links to cancer with the weed-killing chemical glyphosate.
Largest U.S. jury verdict highlights first three cases
While the company disputes glyphosate causes cancer, three separate juries disagreed and levied massive punitive damages against the company:
- May 2019: $2 billion in punitive damages and $55 million in compensatory damages were awarded to a California couple. A judge later cut that award to $87 million but upheld the jury’s verdict.
- March 2019: A federal jury in California awarded $80 million to a man whose cancer is in remission. That award was later reduced to $25.2 million.
- August 2018: In the landmark case over Roundup, former California school groundskeeper DeWayne Johnson was awarded $289 million. That amount was also later reduced by a judge to $78.5 million.
Thousands file lawsuits after WHO classification
In 2015, the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a probable cause of cancer despite regulatory agencies in Europe and the Environmental Protection Agency saying Roundup can be used safely. Plaintiffs argue the chemical is linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers.
The St. Louis trial has been postponed to February 2020 while talks continue. In the meantime, Bayer says it plans to appeal the three other verdicts. If you believe your cancer may have been caused by using Roundup, an attorney experienced in mass tort litigation here in West Virginia will work to get you the compensation you deserve.
