Roundup Lawsuit Update 2024: Much Awaited Verdicts

In the chronicle of Monsanto/Bayer’s Roundup lawsuits, 2024 is expected to mark a great difference in the lives of victims exposed to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. The lawsuits against Roundup spin on the adverse side effects of cancer-causing weed killer glyphosate.

Through this blog, let’s have a glide through the intricate details of the woeful Roundup lawsuits, exploring the controversies, legal battles and the scientific revelations that have played influential role in the Roundup verdicts of the past. Follow us for the latest Roundup lawsuit updates 2024.

Before plunging into the maze of lawsuits, let’s familiarize ourselves with Roundup and Monsanto.

Background of Roundup

What is Roundup? Roundup (glyphosate) is a widely used weed killer discovered by Monsanto chemist John E. Franz in the early 1970s. Knowing glyphosate’s weed-killing efficiency, Monsanto introduced it in the year 1974 to eliminate weeds threatening crops. As it initially caused damages to the crops too, genetically modified seeds resistant to glyphosate were introduced. This increased the use of Roundup for better crop production.

Glyphosate was classified as a “probable human carcinogen” in 1985 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as studies proved glyphosate exposure caused kidney tumor in male mice. However, the EPA changed its stance by 1991 saying that there was lack of evidence to prove its carcinogenic nature.

Roundup pesticide lawsuits started surfacing on causing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2016. Monsanto’s acquisition by Bayer AG in 2018 intensified Roundup weed killer lawsuits.

In 2021, Bayer proposed a five year plan to wind up around 100,000 claims and also reported to withdraw Roundup from the market by 2023 and replace it by a glyphosate-free pesticide for residential use.

Side Effects of Glyphosate

The adverse effects of Roundup, outlined in its user guide, shed light on the potential dangers users face. Short-term side effects, such as eye, skin, nose, and throat irritations, increased salivation, and gastrointestinal issues, are listed out in the guide. However, the most severe consequences include the heightened risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), leukemia, multiple myeloma, and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

People who are at high risk are landscapers, gardeners, groundskeepers, farm workers, and farmers—occupations where exposure to glyphosate is prevalent. Users are asked to wear protective gear while using the herbicide.

Most common symptoms of glyphosate exposure are as follows:

• Breathlessness
• Chest pain
• Fatigue
• Headache and confusion
• Night sweats
• Pain in the bones and joints
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Unexplained lumps or bumps all over the body
• Unintentional weight loss

Studies Substantiating Roundup Side Effects

A research study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 2003 established that long time exposure to glyphosate can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) identified the correlation between glyphosate and cancer in 2015. From then onwards many researchers identified the link between glyphosate and cancers, like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and hairy cell leukemia.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified in July 2022 that 80% of the urine samples collected from U.S. people had glyphosate presence.

According to the research study published in August 2022 by the Florida Atlantic University, glyphosate exposure can cause convulsions in animals.

Another study appeared in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism in August 2022 identified that home Roundup usage had heightened the risk of thyroid cancer by 36% in the past twenty years.

A Brazilian study published in September 2022 in the Journal of Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology came up with a startling fact that pregnant women getting exposed to glyphosate would face increased risk of fetus with liver damage and inflammation.

In October 2022, another research paper published in the Environmental Health proved that the glyphosate exposure during pregnancy could end up in more neonatal intensive care need due to lower birth weight. The study also added “Pesticide exposure in pregnancy, especially in early pregnancy, can imprint DNA and alter gene expression.”

Apart from the NHL cancer claims (around 60 types of lymphoma) we have seen so far, these revelations hint at the future possibility of more types of other disease-related cases from glyphosate exposure.

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in January 2023 discovered increased amount of oxidative stress indicators hinting at the elevated cancer risk in farmers exposed to glyphosate.

A recent study published on December 6, 2023, in Environmental Health Perspectives has found that long-term exposure to glyphosate is associated with DNA damage in men. This research focused on licensed pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina, revealing that exposure led to a mosaic loss of chromosome Y (mLOY) in blood cells, a condition linked to increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease and blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. The study highlighted that even men above 70 years without obesity and smoking habits showed a 10% incidence of mLOY.

Chronological Roundup Lawsuit Updates

The first Roundup cancer lawsuit was filed in February 2016 in the Northern District of California’s federal district court by Edward Hardeman. Followed by Hardeman, many Round up lawsuits started flooding the U.S. courts. In October 2016, all the glyphosate lawsuits were consolidated into an MDL under the Judge Vince Chhabria in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California.

The first bellwether case trialed under the MDL no. 2741 was of Edward Hardeman. In May 2019, he won the first Roundup verdict of $80 million, out of which $75 million was awarded under punitive damages for Monsanto’s negligence in masking the cancer risks of glyphosate. However, after Bayer made the appeal, his reward was reduced to $25 million in 2021.

In 2018, Dewayne Johnson won $289 million in damages including punitive damages for developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from his long term workplace exposure to Roundup. However, Monsanto succeeded in reducing this reward to a mere $20.5 million after being revised twice.

In May 2019, Alva and Alberta Pilliod were rewarded with $2 billion in punitive damages and $55 million in compensatory damages for their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnoses from 30 years of residential landscaping exposure to Roundup. This compensation was revised after Bayer’s appeal to $86.7 million.

Bayer got its long awaited first bellwether win in October 2021 in Destiny Clark case. The jury gave the verdict against her claim that her son Ezra’s Burkitt’s lymphoma (a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) was from the Roundup exposure at home.

In May 2022, Bayer came to a settlement agreement to wind up around 96,000 Roundup lawsuits for a $11 billion in reparation. It also allocated $ billion to settle the future claims.

Bayer tasted its second win in Donnetta Stephens case, where the jury did not accept her claim that her cancer was caused by glyphosate exposure. In June 2022, two more victories were added to Bayer’s list in the cases of Allan Shelton and Larry Johnson. It was determined that their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were not the result of Roundup exposure. The very next month, in the Alesi et al. case, Bayer enjoyed victory despite having strong expert witnesses on the plaintiff side. November 2022 gave Bayer got its sixth consecutive win Stacey Moore case.

Bayer succeeded in getting Dr. John Carson’s (Sr) Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma (MFH) claim canceled by the district court. After the plaintiff’s appeal, the Eleventh circuit court consented to hear the claim.

Seventh consecutive victory was added to Bayers’s list in Sharlean Gordon’s case. Her non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis at the age of 39 was from her exposure to Roundup from domestic garden use. Bayer bagged 2 more wins in Evard and Mark McCostlin cases in September 2023.

October 2023 put a speed breaker against the winning streak of Bayer by awarding a few plaintiff-favored verdicts. These verdicts have re-lit the hopes of Roundup lawsuit plaintiffs. Plaintiff Durnell received a $1.25 million as compensatory damages in her product labeling-related claim. Plaintiff Caranci received $25 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages. Mike Dennis won a $332 million Roundup lawsuit payout for his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which included $325 million in punitive damages.

Plaintiffs– Daniel Anderson of California, Jimmy Draeger of Missouri and Valorie Gunther of New York were given a verdict of $61.1 million in compensatory damages and $500 million each in punitive damages for their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnoses in November 2023.

In Bruce Jones case, the court did not believe that her NHL cancer was caused by Roundup exposure and gave a defense verdict. Martel bagged $462,500 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages for her NHL claim. By the end of December 2023, Bayer had settled around $4.5 billion in Roundup lawsuits.

Migrant Plaintiffs

Exclusion of Roundup claims of the non U.S. citizens like Elvira Reyes-Hernandez from the Roundup lawsuit settlements allocated to three law firms affected the migrant victims. Out of the $410 million allocated, all the 3,000 plaintiffs were supposed to get at least $120,000 as Roundup lawsuit settlement amounts per person. Elvira accused that her lawyers excluded her saying that she was a migrant as Bayer’s imposed recovery limitations excluded migrant workers. Elvira had moved a complaint against the law firms and Bayer to include her in the settlement.

Roundup Lawsuits Updates 2024

The new year 2024 brightened the hopes of plaintiffs by awarding McKvision $250 million in compensatory damages and a $2 billion punitive damages. Bayer had planned to appeal the $2.25 billion verdict in this case. The billion dollar Roundup lawsuit verdict had boosted up the expectations of more than 4200 plaintiffs waiting for a favorable verdict.

Though many lawsuits were settled by Bayer earlier for billions, more new lawsuits are being filed every month. Around 26 lawsuits were added in January 2024.

In a notable development, Judge Chhabria contemplates potential dismissals or transfers of Roundup class action lawsuits into MDL. Challenges over venue appropriateness and class action manageability add layers of complexity to these Californian plaintiffs’ cases.

February 2024 

As per the latest Roundup lawsuit update on February 1, 2023, there were 4,203 active cases pending in the Roundup MDL 2741.

The Roundup trials in NHL claims by Dale Cody, Barbara Myers, and Courtney Kline are set to commence in Arkansas, California, and Pennsylvania, respectively.

April 2024 Updates

There are 4,281 active lawsuits pending in the Roundup lawsuit MDL as of April 1, 2024. Around 80 lawsuits were added in the last two months.

See the Roundup lawsuit updates on all the vedicts so far here.

March 2024 Updates

In the case of Cloud vs Monsanto, a mistrial was announced in this month. Monsanto tasted another victory in Courtney Kline’s case trialed in Phiadelphia. Kline developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from his prolonged exposure to Roundup at least 6 months a year for several years. The plaintiff stated that he could not present his evidence from EPA’s safety evaluation report and IARC’s finding of Roundup as a carcinogen. he has plans to appeal against the verdict.

Basic Allegations in Roundup Lawsuits

The Roundup lawsuits hold the defendants liable under the following counts:

• Strict liability for failure to design (Count I)
• Strict liability for failure to warn (Count II)
• Negligence (Count III)
• Breach of implied warranties (Count IV)

As per the Monsanto Roundup lawsuit updates, the cancer types linked to glyphosate exposure in Roundup fertilizer lawsuits are listed below:

• Anaplastic large cell lymphoma
• B-lymphoblastic lymphoma
• Burkitt lymphoma
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
• Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• Extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue
• Follicular lymphoma and hairy cell leukemia
• Large granular lymphocytic leukemia
• Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (Waldenström Macroglobulinemia)
• Mantle cell lymphoma
• Marginal zone B-cell lymphomas
• Mycosis fungoides
• Nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma
• Peripheral T-cell lymphomas
• Primary central nervous system lymphoma
• Sezary syndrome
• Small lymphocytic lymphoma
• Splenic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma

Roundup Impacts & Trials around the Globe

What is the latest news on the roundup lawsuit? A class action lawsuit filed in September 2023 in Australia is evaluating the link between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This Roundup class action lawsuit with 800 members filed by Kelvin McNickle in the Federal Court of Australia demands compensation for plaintiffs with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from glyphosate exposure during the period July 1976 to 4 July 2022.

McNickle, the lead plaintiff, had been exposed to glyphosate from his teens as he assisted his family vegetation business. At 35 years, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as a result of his 20 year exposure to glyphosate. This judge-only trial going on in the federal court of Melbourne is expected to provide a new legal perspective and indirectly influence Monsanto lawsuits in the U.S. and around the world.

How to join Roundup lawsuit?

If you have used Roundup for residential use or at workplace, before being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, you stand a chance to file your Roundup lawsuit. The Roundup lawsuit criteria for eligibility also include the following.

• Exposure to Roundup for longer period or in larger amounts.
• Being diagnosed of non-Hodgkin lymphoma or another cancer noted from the glyphosate exposure since June 1, 2018.
• Used Roundup for at least 2 years before cancer diagnosis.
• Still within the state’s statutes of limitations.

Roundup lawsuits are still active and many attorneys are accepting plaintiffs for Roundup claims. If affected, contact an experienced Roundup lawyer to know the eligibility of your claim or who qualifies for Roundup lawsuit.

Why do you need a Roundup lawsuit attorney to establish your claim?

Roundup lawsuit attorneys assess the plaintiff’s history of Roundup exposure, medical records, and diagnosis to determine if there is a viable claim against Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup. They can provide legal expertise in product liability and toxic tort law, developing strategies to prove that Roundup exposure is linked to the victim’s cancer diagnosis.

They can also efficiently gather evidence that supports the claim, including scientific studies, expert testimonies, and records of Roundup use by the plaintiff. They can also negotiate settlements with Monsanto or represent the plaintiff in court if the case goes to trial, advocating for compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and punitive damages.

Seeking an expert attorney to shoulder your claim?

Boost Roundup Lawsuits with Expert Medical Record Reviews

A thorough review of medical records is essential to establish a comprehensive medical history of the plaintiff, including the diagnosis of cancer and any related treatments. Medical record review helps in establishing a timeline that links Roundup exposure to the onset of cancer symptoms and diagnosis. This timeline is crucial for proving causation in court.

Experts analyze the medical records to provide testimonies on how Roundup exposure could have led to the development of cancer. Their opinions can significantly impact the case’s outcome. Detailed medical record review reports can be used as important documentation to support the plaintiff’s claim. These reports can include medical chronologies, narrative summaries, and expert opinions.

The review also identifies any pre-existing conditions that Monsanto might argue contributed to the cancer diagnosis, preparing the attorneys to counter such arguments effectively. Through excavating the strengths and weaknesses of a Roundup cancer claim, medical record reviews can weed out the weak points that can weaken the claims.

Are you in search of an expert medical record review company to handle your record review? Reach out to LezDo TechMed for expert analysis.

Winding up,

Roundup lawsuits, one of the vast and active mass tort claims of the present in the U.S. is still open to the victims. As the past verdicts favored both plaintiffs and defendants alike, it make the prediction of the future course of Roundup lawsuits difficult. However, the plaintiffs still have brighter hopes gaining from the billion dollar verdicts so far.

Bayer is still following their tactics of settling stronger Roundup lawsuits and battling the weaker ones in the court as well as appealing against the bigger Roundup cancer lawsuit settlements to reduce or nullify them. Plaintiffs who developed cancers like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma must seek the legal assistance of experienced Roundup lawsuit lawyers handling Roundup lawsuits to ensure victory in their legal fight against the agrochemical-giant, Bayer.

Want to know the latest Roundup lawsuit news and payouts from Roundup lawsuits settlements? Keep visiting our page and get all the latest Roundup lawsuit updates.