While farmers, landscapers and homeowners use Roundup to kill weeds, thousands of lawsuits are sprouting up all over the country claiming that the popular pesticide caused a deadly cancer. So far, more than 18,400 lawsuits have been filed, according to Bloomberg News, and the number grows every day...
What is believed to be the cause of cancer in Roundup, made by Monsanto, is the ingredient glysophate, which many of the lawsuits claim can lead to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The first Roundup lawsuit to go to trial resulted in a $289 million verdict in August 2018 for former groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson. Johnson who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after regularly using Roundup at work.
Recently, Bayer AG, the owner of Monsanto, was ordered to pay the largest jury award in the United States so far this year -- $2 billion in damages to a California couple who alleged they got cancer as a result of using the weed killer. The verdict was the eighth-largest ever in the nation in a product-defect claim.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma occurs when the body produces too many abnormal lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. It affects the body's lymph system (also known as the lymphatic system) and can start anyplace in the body where lymph tissue is found, including the lymph nodes and tonsils, and inside bones and certain organs.
Symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, fever, stomach and chest pain, anemia, fatigue, loss of appetite and night sweats.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma consists of four stages:
Stage I: The cancer is located in a single region or organ, regularly one lymph node and the surrounding area.
Stage II: The cancer is found in two or more lymph node regions on the same side of the diaphragm, either above or below it.
Stage III: The cancer is discovered in lymph nodes on both sides of the diaphragm.
Stage IV: The cancer has spread to one or more tissues or organs outside the lymph system, such as the liver, lungs or bones, and may be found in lymph nodes near or distant from those organs.
Treatments may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem-cell transplant, or medications.
For a free attorney evaluation of possible cancer involving Roundup, contact Kline & Specter. The law firm handles cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and nationwide.