Farmers, agricultural workers, landscapers, and others across the country who use the popular weed killer Roundup have become ill in recent years. Some have even died. Coincidence? A Northern California groundskeeper who developed terminal cancer after using the world’s most popular herbicide didn’t think so. Neither did the San Francisco jury that ordered Roundup’s manufacturer, Monsanto (recently acquired by Bayer) to pay $78 million in damages. Most recently, on March 19, 2019, a federal jury in San Francisco found Roundup was a substantial factor in causing a California man’s cancer. After five days of deliberation over the scientific evidence presented at trial, the six-person jury unanimously concluded that the man had developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) from exposure to the weed killer. The trial on liability and damages will now move forward.
With thousands of other lawsuits looming, Bayer’s Monsanto has reason to worry. And, with spring right around the corner, so do the thousands of farmers and agricultural workers in the state of Montana.
Unfortunately, rather than taking responsibility, Monsanto continues fighting similar legal battles against cancer-stricken Roundup users across the country. For Montana farmers, landscapers and others who regularly use Roundup and think Roundup may cause their own cancer, taking legal action against Monsanto may be the only way to receive compensation for unplanned medical bills and needless pain and suffering.
Since developing Roundup in the early 1970s, Monsanto has claimed it is safe to both humans and the environment. Unfortunately, overwhelming evidence has shown otherwise. In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) determined glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans. Even internal company documents have revealed that Monsanto knew that Roundup was not safe and that Monsanto also attacked legitimate studies and falsified their own research to support their alleged safety claims.
Because of Monsanto’s successful marketing of Roundup as safe, the use of the weed killer is so widespread that the chemical is present almost everywhere. Approved for use on over 100 different crops, studies have shown that glyphosate exists in rivers, streams, and groundwater in agricultural areas where Roundup is used. Glyphosate has also been found in a variety of packaged foods, including Cheerios cereal, Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers, and Lays potato chips.
Perhaps most troubling for Montana’s agricultural community is that a Farm Family Exposure Study found that 60 percent of farmers had detectable levels of glyphosate in their urine on the day they used the herbicide, and farmers who did not use rubber gloves when spraying had the highest levels of those tested. What’s worse, 4 percent of the farmers’ spouses and 12 percent of their children also had detectable levels of glyphosate in their systems.
Researchers have pointed out that neither regulators nor the chemical industry have studied the effects of Roundup at current levels of exposure, so we don’t yet know the full extent of how harmful it can be. However, we know it causes cancer in animals with links to cancer, particularly non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in humans — even among people who spray small amounts in their backyards, let alone farmers and commercial users who frequently sprayed concentrated amounts of the chemical.
Do You Have Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Related to Roundup®? Get Any Help You Deserve
We are a Montana law firm offering a free legal evaluation to people who have worked with this toxic chemical. If it has made you ill, we may be able to help you get:
- Compensation for your medical bills.
- Compensation for your time you were sick and couldn’t work.
- Compensation for pain and suffering.
- Compensation for family members who have died.
If you or a loved one was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and have a history of using Roundup weed killer products, contact the lawyers at Paoli Law Firm to learn your legal rights and see if you have a case. Please visit Paoli Law Firm at www.paoli-law.com or call 406-542-3330.
