A former school groundskeeper says Monsanto’s Roundup left him dying of cancer. Last week a jury awarded the man $289 million. Lawyers say the case will boost thousands of pending cases and open the door for countless people who blame their suffering on the weed killer.
“I’m glad to be here to be able to help in a cause that’s way bigger than me,” says Dewayne Johnson after the court announced the verdict.
Johnson alleges that heavy contact with the herbicide caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. California’s Superior Court jury agreed that Roundup contributed to Johnson’s cancer. The court says Monsanto should have provided a label warning of the potential health hazard.
Johnson’s is the first case filed by a cancer patient against the agribusiness giant to go to trial. Johnson’s victory may set the precedent for others.
“A unanimous jury in San Francisco has told Monsanto: ‘Enough. You did something wrong and now you have to pay,’” says Brent Wisner, Johnson’s lead lawyer.
Monsanto has denied a link between the active ingredient in Roundup—glyphosate—and cancer. They insist hundreds of studies show that glyphosate is safe.
“We are sympathetic to Mr. Johnson and his family,” Monsanto spokesman Scott Partridge says. “We will appeal this decision and continue to vigorously defend this product, which has a 40-year history of safe use.”
Johnson used Roundup and a similar product, Ranger Pro, as a pest control manager at a San Francisco Bay Area school district. He sprayed large quantities from a 50-gallon tank attached to a truck. His attorneys say that during gusty winds, the product would cover his face. And once, when a hose broke, the weed killer soaked his entire body.
Johnson read the label and even contacted the company after developing a rash—but was never warned it could cause cancer, one of his attorneys, Brent Wisner says.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Roundup’s active ingredient is safe for people when used in accordance with label directions.
Do you think companies are responsible when people use products in ways they aren’t meant to be used?
(AP Photo: Bottles of Roundup herbicide)
