Roundup Cancer Claims – Bayer is Reported to be Considering an $8 Billion Settlement

Roundup, the popular weed killer found in homes across America, may kill more than unwanted plants. Roundup’s manufacturers have already lost three high profile lawsuits claiming the product caused cancer. Now Bayer is reported to be considering an $8 billion settlement for Roundup cancer claims.

Earlier this month, CBS News reported Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company that bought Roundup maker Monsanto, reportedly discussed $8 billion to settle thousands of cancer claims. A mediator involved in the case later denied the claims.

Bloomberg News reported $8 billion was on the table but the negotiations may drag on for months. The figure is less than the $10 billion requested by lawyers representing people who say their cancers were caused by glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

Mediator Ken Feinberg later dismissed the $8 billion settlement reports of Roundup cancer claims as fictitious. Roundup claims are shaping up as one of the biggest issues in recent years.

Roundup Cancer Claims – Why Glyphosate is to Blame

The heat is on Monsanto and its parent company Bayer after three big verdicts. This summer, a jury in Oakland, California awarded Alva and Alberta Pilliod $2 billion in punitive damages. The jurors in Alameda County Superior Court concluded sustained exposure to Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate resulted in their cancer diagnoses. The couple was awarded an additional $55 million for pain and suffering and to cover their ongoing medical expenses. A judge later cut the $2 billion verdict to $86 million.

The couple will now receive about $17 million in compensatory damages and $69 million in punitive damages, a reduction from $55 million and $2 billion, respectively.

The reduction in damages should not detract from the potential seriousness of the lawsuits for Bayer and its shareholders. Bayer now faces Roundup cancer claims from over 18,000 plaintiffs across the United States alone.

Plaintiffs claim Roundup caused non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in regular users of the weed killer. They allege Monsanto hid the cancer evidence for decades and sought to influence scientists.

Most of the people who alleged Roundup caused cancer were regular users of the weed killer. The Pilliods used Roundup for about three decades for residential landscaping. The jury said this played a “substantial factor” in their development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Alva received a cancer diagnosis in 2011; his wife, Alberta, was given the same diagnosis four years later. Both were in remission at the time of the court hearing. Others have died from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In an earlier verdict, a jury in San Francisco found glyphosate in Roundup caused cancer in Edwin Hardeman, 70, who used the Monsanto product to treat poison oak, overgrowth, and weeds on his property for decades. Jurors awarded him $80 million in damages.

Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, later said the jurors “correctly held Monsanto responsible” for Hardeman’s cancer. He said Environmental Protection Agency regulators consistently ignored independent scientific findings and failed to protect Americans from this dangerous toxin.

NFL Running Back Joins Roundup Cancer Claims

In July, Merril Hoge, a former NFL running back and an ESPN analyst filed a lawsuit against Monsanto in US District Court in Idaho. He said Roundup caused his cancer and has left him in permanent “physical pain and mental anguish.”

The lawsuit says the company promoted “false, misleading, and untrue” statements about the safety of Roundup, CNN reported.

Hoge worked on farms and used Roundup for years, his lawyers pointed out. He is just one of the more high-profile casualties of this weed killer.

Talk to a Virginia Injury Lawyer About Roundup Cancer Claims

We are extremely concerned about the apparent link between a very popular weed killer and a very unpleasant form of cancer. At Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, our product liability team will examine your claim about a dangerous product and advise you about a lawsuit. Please call us for a free consultation.