(TotalConservative.com) – A jury in California just granted a total of $332 million in awards to a man with cancer who sued the chemical company Monsanto for allegedly contributing to the development of his illness due to the use of the weed-killer Roundup.
Mike Dennis, who is now 57, was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma in 2020. According to the lawsuit filed by Dennis, he contends that the cancer’s development was related to the active ingredient in Roundup, a weed-killer produced by Monsanto Co. which Dennis handled for decades. The chemical in question is called glyphosate.
The jury ruled that Monsanto failed to properly warn Dennis about the risks of handling the weed-killer. For compensatory damages, Dennis received $7 million, and in punitive damages, he received a whopping $325 million.
One of his attorneys, Adam Peavy, said that Dennis was treated for the illness, which is now in remission, but that no real cure exists. Peavy said that one of Dennis’ doctors “told him it’s going to come back,” and that they are “just waiting to see if that happens.”
Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, said in a statement that they “have strong arguments on appeal” and will be able to get the verdict “overturned” as well as to have the “damage award eliminated or reduced,” which they called “unconstitutionally excessive.” They claim that “significant” legal errors and “evidentiary errors” were made during the trial, which are “reversible.”
Monsanto was purchased by Bayer in 2018 for $63 billion, and this is far from the only lawsuit Monsanto has dealt with over the weed-killer. So far, as of October 2023, the chemical giant has settled up to 100,000 cases related to Roundup, amounting to approximately $11 billion in settlement payouts.
There are still around 40,000 active lawsuits related to Roundup.
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