Jury finds Monsanto's Roundup caused a man's cancer
- The unanimous decision was the second jury verdict finding Roundup caused non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- This case involved 70-year Edwin Hardeman, who sprayed the product containing glyphosate on his 56-acre property.
- DeWayne Johnson had earlier been awarded $289 million in his case.
- Hardeman's case will now go to the damages phase.
San Francisco - A jury in federal court in San Francisco has concluded that Roundup weed killer was a substantial factor in a California man's cancer. The unanimous verdict on Tuesday came in a trial that plaintiffs' attorneys said could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits against Roundup's manufacturer, agribusiness giant Monsanto.
It was the second jury verdict to find that Roundup caused non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Another jury reached that conclusion last year awarded the plaintiff, DeWayne Johnson, $289 million.
Jurors in California Superior Court agreed the product contributed to Johnson's cancer and the company should have provided a label warning of the potential health hazard. Johnson's attorneys sought and won $39 million in compensatory damages and $250 million of the $373 million they wanted in punitive damages.
Tuesday's verdict came in the case of 70-year Edwin Hardeman. The judge overseeing Hardeman's lawsuit had split the trial into two phases. Hardeman's attorneys first had to convince jurors that his use of Roundup was a significant factor in his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The trial will now proceed to the damages phase.
Hardeman claimed that his decades-long use of the weedkiller on his 56-acre Sonoma County property is linked to his diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2015. Monsanto said studies have established that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is safe.