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The Monsanto Bayer Roundup lawsuit claims the company failed to warn users of the increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Our law firm is seeking compensation for individuals who have experienced significant exposure to Roundup and have been diagnosed with a form of B cell or T Cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, including its many subtypes, such as follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and hairy cell leukemia.
As part of the Roundup lawsuits, plaintiff attorneys claim Bayer and its predecessor Monsanto have known for more than 30 years that there is a link between the use of Roundup and cancer. However, the company intentionally made the decision not to warn the public and even marketed the product to be as safe as table salt and practically non-toxic to humans, pets, birds, and fish.
Litigation documents show that Monsanto manipulated data and attacked legitimate studies exposing the dangers of Roundup and created a campaign of misinformation to convince government agencies, farmers, and the general population that its herbicide was safe.
As of March 2023, more than 4,000 lawsuits were pending in state and federal court by individuals claiming to have suffered non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from exposure to Roundup.
As of this writing, there have been 3 Plaintiff verdicts and 7 Defense verdicts. Bayer has not changed the warning label or withdrawn Roundup from the market. As such, individuals continue to use Roundup and continue to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There are now thousands of Roundup lawsuits in the state and federal court systems awaiting trial.
Our office is representing individuals who are newly diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after heavy Roundup exposure.
Multiple studies have shown the deadly health risks of exposure to Roundup. The most serious side effect from exposure to glyphosate (Roundup’s main ingredient) is the development of cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and B-cell lymphoma.
Each year, approximately 70,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The individuals most at risk for developing cancer are farm workers and other individuals with workplace exposure to the herbicide, such as employees in garden centers, nurseries, and landscapers. Individuals are exposed to glyphosate from breathing it while spraying, mixing, or cleanup, or through drinking water or eating food contaminated with the herbicide.
If you experienced cancer as a result of Roundup, our lawyers would seek the following damages on your behalf:
If a loved one died as the result of an illness caused by their exposure to Roundup, you could be eligible to file a wrongful death action. Our wrongful death attorneys can guide you through this process.
Symptoms of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma include:
The most common form is B-cell lymphoma, which makes up 90% of all cases.
Treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma consists of:
If you were exposed to Roundup and have been diagnosed with NHL, Call Levin Papantonio Rafferty today or complete and submit the form on this page for a free evaluation of your claim.
Roundup is a broad-spectrum herbicide utilized to kill weeds and grasses that are unattractive or damage crops. Its active ingredient is glyphosate. Monsanto discovered the potential use of glyphosate as an herbicide in 1970 and began marketing it in 1974. Since its introduction in the 1970s, the use of glyphosate-based herbicides has increased by 10,000% in terms of frequency and amount of application.
Each year, approximately 250 million pounds of glyphosate are sprayed on crops, commercial nurseries, lawns, driveways, sidewalks, parks, and golf courses. Much of this increase in use has been caused by the expansion of genetically modified (GMO) crops sold as Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” seeds, which crops are designed to resist the killing power of glyphosate products.
Monsanto was the largest producer in the world of GMO seeds designed to be resistant to glyphosate products. The company earned $4.8 billion in revenue in 2015 from its sales of Roundup.
Glyphosate is an organophosphorus phosphonate that destroys weeds by attacking the enzyme 5-enolpyruvoylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (“EPSPS”), which causes a reduction in aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. These amino acids are essential to the growth of plants. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world.
Glyphosate is an analog, or synthetic version, of an amino acid known as glycine. When applied to weeds, glyphosate prevents the synthesis of certain amino acids and the function of what is known as the “shikimate pathway.” This “pathway” is how plants convert food into energy and thus is the basis of plant metabolism. According to M.I.T. Research scientist Dr. Stephanie Seneff, “Glyphosate…interrupts the shikimate pathway, a metabolic function in plants that allows them to create essential amino acids. When this path is interrupted, the plants die.”
Bayer now sells numerous glyphosate-containing herbicidal products to various markets throughout the world, the largest and most lucrative of which is the agricultural industry. Far from exhaustive, some of the company’s most used glyphosate-containing products include PowerMAX, PRO, ProDry, PROMAX, QuikPRO, Ultra, WeatherMAX, UltraMAX, AquaMaster, and RT Master II.
The agrochemical company also broadly markets genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”) under the tradename “Ready” (e.g. Roundup Ready Corn), which are engineered to be more resistant to weeds, pests, herbicides, and pesticides. Its GMOs are noteworthy in their ability to withstand the toxic herbicidal effects of glyphosate, allowing for simultaneous defense against invasive vegetation while enabling robust crop yields.
Monsanto was part of a group of corporations that are collectively referred to as the “Big 6”, which together dominate the agricultural input market through their ownership of the world’s seed, pesticide, and biotechnology industries. The remaining Big 6 corporations included BASF, Bayer, Dupont, Dow Chemical Company, and Syngenta. Bayer purchased Monsanto in 2018
Bayer AG learned it must pay four plaintiffs $1.56 billion after a jury decided Monsanto was liable for Roundup-caused injuries, including cancer. Complaints claimed negligence, design defects, and failure to warn of the potential dangers of using the popular herbicide. Published in LPR – Roundup Jury Verdict
A California jury has awarded a couple more than $2 billion in a verdict against Monsanto. This is the third recent court decision involving claims that the company’s Roundup weed killer caused cancer. Published in NPR – Roundup Jury Verdict
A San Francisco jury ordered agribusiness giant Monsanto to pay $289 million to a former school groundskeeper dying of cancer, saying the company’s popular Roundup weed killer contributed to his disease. The lawsuit brought by Dewayne Johnson was the first to go to trial among hundreds filed in state and federal courts saying Roundup causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Published in CBS News – Roundup Jury Verdict
“The internal correspondence noted by Johnson could support a jury finding that Monsanto has long been aware of the risk that its glyphosate-based herbicides are carcinogenic … but has continuously sought to influence the scientific literature to prevent its internal concerns from reaching the public sphere and to bolster its defenses in products liability actions,” Judge Curtis Karnow wrote. Published in The Guardian – Monsanto Concealed Risks
The reputation of Roundup, whose active ingredient is the world’s most widely used weed killer, took a hit on Tuesday when a federal court unsealed documents raising questions about its safety and the research practices of its manufacturer, the chemical giant Monsanto. Published in New York Times – Monsanto Roundup Unsealed Documents
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer agency is firmly defending its finding that a widely used herbicide is “probably carcinogenic” despite reports cited by key House lawmakers. Published in Science
Lawyers base their cancer claims on a 2015 report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization. This organization concluded that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic.” The organization found that glyphosate could cause cancer in animals during lab test, and found the chemical could damage human DNA. Published in CBS News – Weed Killer Cancer Claims
Monsanto on Thursday stepped up its defense of Roundup, a widely used weed killer, by filing a lawsuit in California seeking to prevent glyphosate, the main ingredient in the herbicide, from being added to the state’s list of known carcinogens. The company said it filed the suit against the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the agency’s acting director, Lauren Zeise, in California state court. The state agency said in September that it planned to add glyphosate to the list after the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified it as a probable human carcinogen last March. Published in New York Times – California Roundup Classification
Glyphosate, a potentially carcinogenic weedkiller chemical, has been given the go-ahead for continued use in the EU after European health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis granted it an extension. The usage of glyphosate – most commonly found in products such as Monsanto’s Roundup Weedkiller – was due to expire on Thursday (30 June 2016), but will now continue to be used for another 18 months. Published in International Business Times – EU Approves Roundup Use
Monsanto has been calling on EPA to defend glyphosate against the cancer claims since the IARC classification came out in March 2015. A March 23, 2015 EPA email string released as part of a Freedom of Information request details Monsanto’s efforts to get EPA to “correct” the record on glyphosate “as it relates to carcinogenicity.” Published in Huffington Post – EPA Controversial Handling of Roundup
The IARC Working Group that conducted the evaluation considered the significant findings from the US EPA report and several more recent positive results in concluding that there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. Glyphosate also caused DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells, although it gave negative results in tests using bacteria. One study in community residents reported increases in blood markers of chromosomal damage (micronuclei) after glyphosate formulations were sprayed nearby.Published in International Agency for Research on Cancer – Herbicide Evaluation
This study confirmed and strengthened the association between exposure to phenoxyacetic acids and NHL.
Reported use of several individual pesticides was associated with increased NHL incidence, including . . . glyphosate, and sodium chlorate. A subanalysis of these “potentially carcinogenic” pesticides suggested a positive trend of risk with exposure to increasing numbers. Published in Occupational Environmental Medicine – Pesticides Tied to non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Men
Researchers concluded that NHL was associated with specific pesticides after adjustment for other independent predictors.
Glyphosate was originally classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group C) in 1985 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, after the EPA studies were later re-evaluated, in 1991, the EPA changed its classification to non-carcinogenic in humans (Group E). The International Agency for the Research of Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization, disagrees with the EPA, and has recently classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A).
Monsanto is trying to debunk IARC’s claims, arguing that several other regulatory agencies from Argentina, Canada, and South Africa have found Glyphosate safe in humans. However, even if some of the studies relied upon by Monsanto have found no link between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, IARC’s researchers found sufficient evidence that exposure to Roundup’s active ingredient can cause DNA damage in human cells. This type of damage may require a very long latency time (10 years or more) before its effects become manifest, as shown by a study published in the International Journal of Cancer. IARC also rejects most of these Monsanto-submitted studies because they are deemed not neutral enough.
What’s most concerning is that a recent analysis performed by The Alliance for Natural Health USA found glyphosate residues in food products where it was never intended to be, such as breakfast cereals, coffee creamer and eggs. One of the reasons why the herbicide was widely publicized as safe was its rapid biodegradability. However, if glyphosate residues are present in such alarming levels in food and water, it means it’s accumulating in animal and human tissues. Additionally, modern commercial pesticide formulations such as Roundup may contain additional substances (adjuvants) that can increase glyphosate’s toxicity and carcinogenicity. Most of these formulations were created several years after the original 1991 EPA assessment and were thus never taken into account.
Furthermore, the toxicological relevance of several other analogues of glyphosate such as the N-acetyl-glyphosate is often underestimated. The latter herbicide is mostly used just for GMOs, and it’s less toxic than the former. However, N-acetyl-glyphosate and the other chemical analogues may also contribute additively to the overall glyphosate exposure as they keep accumulating in animal and maybe human tissues.
As of this time, there has not been a recall of Roundup as a result of its link to cancer. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency takes the position that Roundup has no “meaningful risks” to human health, and that it does not cause cancer in humans. However, internal documents discovered during national litigation show Monsanto was working with the EPA and scientists for decades to create studies refuting a link between the use of glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen to humans and animals. The IARC is the cancer agency of the World Health Organization.
In March 2017, the State of California became the first governmental entity in the United States to declare glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, to be a known carcinogen.
As of September 2019, more than 15 countries have completely or partially banned the use of glyphosate, including Austria, France, and Italy. Additionally, numerous cities in America have banned or significantly restricted its use. Even Germany, the home country for the manufacturer of Roundup, has announced that glyphosate will be completely banned by the end of 2023.
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