Roundup Glyphosate Cancer Verdict Upheld - Punitive Damages Set at $20 Million

By Levin Simes
July 22, 2019

Roundup Glyphosate Cancer Verdict Upheld – $20 Million Punitive Damages

A federal judge called Monsanto’s failure to investigate evidence Roundup causes cancer “reprehensible”, stating “based on the evidence that came in at trial, Monsanto deserves to be punished”. The judge upheld the verdict against Roundup for causing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

The judge did reduce the punitive damages award, from $75 million to $20 million. The initial $75 million award was decided upon by the jury after evidence Monsanto did nothing to warn consumers about the risks of cancer. The judge noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has placed limits on the ratio between economic damages and punitive damages, and he felt he was required to lower the award despite Monsanto’s conduct in keeping with legal precedent. The jury awarded $5.3 million in economic damages to the cancer victim, making the original punitive damage award 14-15 times the size of economic damage.  The judge reduced it to approximately four times, stating this ratio of 4:1 was constitutional.

“A Major Victory” on Roundup Verdict

Plaintiff attorney’s declared the upheld ruling “a major victory”, after Bayer and Monsanto had requested the ruling be set aside. The defendants had also requested a new trial, with the ruling upheld this request was denied. Bayer said it planned to appeal the verdict. Other verdicts against Bayer and Monsanto for cancer from Roundup are under appeal, including a $2 billion verdict and a prior $289 million verdict. The $289 million verdict was also upheld but reduced by it’s trial judge, to $78 million.

Roundup Causes Lymphoma Cancer

Roundup was linked with cancers including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 1985 the EPA classified the main chemical in Roundup (glyphosate) as possibly carcinogenic. The World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded in 2015 that glyphosate was a probable cause of cancer.

Roundup Lymphoma Cancer Lawyer

Levin Simes represents those diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer after exposure to Roundup. If you have been diagnosed with lymphoma and have exposure to glyphosate or Roundup, please contact us at info@levinsimes.com or (415) 426-3000.

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