A Pennsylvania man was awarded $78 million after filing a lawsuit claiming he developed cancer from using the weedkiller Roundup.
William Melissen, 51, said he was diagnosed in 2020 with a blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a type of leukemia, which he said was due to his exposure to chemicals in weedkiller, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
This is the latest in a series of lawsuits against the company that have already reached nearly $11 billion in settlements to date, with thousands more lawsuits pending.
Melissen claims to have used the product frequently for nearly 30 years, between 1992 and 2020. He sued agricultural giant Monsanto, which makes Roundup, and its German parent company, Bayer, in 2021.
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William Melissen, 51, was awarded $78 million after filing a lawsuit claiming he developed cancer from using the weedkiller Roundup. (Getty Images)
A Philadelphia jury ruled Thursday that the man’s cancer was caused by glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup. The jury awarded him $3 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages.
Monsanto said in a statement that it disagreed with the jury’s verdict and that the evidence did not support the claim that Roundup causes cancer. The company also said the testing errors provided it with strong grounds for appeal.
The alleged errors include the fact that the case was not dismissed after three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in August that Pennsylvania state law cannot require a label. he pesticide warning is more comprehensive than that approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
William Melissen said he was diagnosed in 2020 with a blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. (Getty Images)
During the trial, Monsanto attorney Bart Williams presented the jury with transcripts of testimony from Melissen and his treating physician showing that his cancer is in remission and that he was treated with five days of chemotherapy.
Melissen’s lawsuit is one of thousands nationwide in which people with cancer have accused Monsanto of failing to include adequate warnings about its weedkiller product.
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A Philadelphia jury ruled that the man’s cancer was caused by glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup. (Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Monsanto has reached settlements in nearly 100,000 Roundup lawsuits for which it has paid approximately $11 billion. Monsanto estimates there are still 54,000 active lawsuits against Roundup.
“This is one more jury that has recognized Monsanto’s outrageous conduct over 50 years,” Melissen’s lawyer, Tom Kline, told the Philadelphia Inquirer after Thursday’s verdict.
