Glyphosate in Monsanto Roundup Weed Killer Blamed for Leukemia, Lymphoma

Published on December 18, 2018 by Sandy Liebhard

A new Roundup lawsuit claims that years of exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weed killer is to blame for two types of cancer afflicting a man from Tennessee

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Stephen Stanley Nash-Boulden used Monsanto Roundup, as well as the company’s other glyphosate herbicides, from 1978 to 2018.

This past April, he was diagnosed with B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Cell Lymphoma. Among other things, Nash-Boulden attributes both cancers to his glyphosate exposure and asserts that Monsanto engaged in scientific fraud and other wrongful conduct to ensure the success of those products, which are key to the company’s continued reputation and dominance in the marketplace.

“Monsanto risked the lives of consumers and users of its products, including Plaintiff, with knowledge of the safety problems associated with Roundup and glyphosate-containing products, and suppressed this knowledge from the general public,” the complaint states. “Monsanto made conscious decisions not to redesign, warn or inform the unsuspecting public. Monsanto’s reckless conduct warrants an award of aggravated damages.”

Glyphosate and Cancer

Since its launch in the 1970s, Monsanto’s Roundup has become the most popular weed killer in the world.

In March 2015, however, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared glyphosate a probable human carcinogen. This followed an independent review that linked occupational glyphosate exposure to an increased risk of cancer, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and its various subtypes, such as B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Cell Lymphoma.

Despite the findings of the IARC review, Monsanto adamantly denies any link between glyphosate and cancer. In addition, the company has engaged in an aggressive and allegedly fraudulent campaign to discredit the IARC findings.

$78 Million Monsanto Roundup Cancer Verdict

Nevertheless, thousands of people have since filed similar Roundup lawsuits in courts throughout the United States

In August, the nation’s first trial involving Monsanto Roundup and cancer concluded in San Francisco Superior Court. Dwayne Johnson, a 46-year-old former groundskeeper with terminal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, won $289 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Among other things, jurors found that Monsanto acted with malice and oppression in its handling of glyphosate.

In October, the judge overseeing the trial slashed the punitive damage award to comply with California law, bringing the total verdict to $78 million. Although Johnson agreed to accept the lower verdict, Bayer – which recently acquired Monsanto – has filed an appeal.

Sadly, Johnson’s attorneys worry he will die before the appeal is resolved.

Upcoming Roundup Lawsuit Trials

The next Roundup lawsuit trial is scheduled to begin on February 25^th in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, where hundreds of similar claims are consolidated before a single judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

The case involves a 70-year-old California man diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2015. He allegedly used Monsanto Roundup on his property starting in the 1980s.

San Francisco Superior Court will convene another Roundup lawsuit trial in March. The case involves an elderly California couple, both of whom are suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The couple was granted an expedited trial earlier this year because of their short life-expectancy and potential for relapse.