Bayer, which bought Monsanto, the manufacturer of the glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup, has offered $10.9 billion to settle most Roundup cancer lawsuits. The company has also settled some cases that went to trial, sometimes for millions of dollars. Future Roundup settlements are still possible.
A growing number of studies have linked glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup, to an increased risk of certain cancers. Plaintiffs allege that the glyphosate-based herbicide led to their cancer diagnoses and have successfully sued Bayer in court. Many individuals have joined class-action lawsuits against Bayer, but most of these suits have not been settled. Claimants may still qualify to file a lawsuit against the company for financial compensation.
As of December 2022, claimants in more than 100,000 Roundup lawsuits had reached settlements equaling approximately $100 billion, according to legal experts, with more trials and settlements expected. More Roundup trials are scheduled for June 2023 in Florida, San Diego and Missouri.
Bayer has responded to the latest influx of Roundup settlement cases by creating a five-point response plan. Bayer will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the company to review and appeal future verdicts, create a claims program and fund to manage future cases and create new herbicide formulations that do not use glyphosate. It also will request permission from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to promote an informational webpage created by Bayer covering glyphosate risks.
The company reached a $6.9 million settlement in June 2023 with New York after the state’s Attorney General filed claims accusing Bayer of misleading consumers. As part of the settlement, Bayer can no longer advertise Roundup containing glyphosate as safe and non-toxic to the environment. The settlement funds will help pay for measures to limit the impact of pesticides on pollinators and aquatic species.
Bayer and Monsanto have settled thousands of individual Roundup lawsuits for billions of dollars. Roundup users claimed the herbicide caused their non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Individual lawsuits are not the same as class-action lawsuits. A class-action lawsuit allows one or more individuals to file a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group, or “class.” Many individuals who have the same concerns or claims may form a class-action suit to avoid lengthy and expensive individual court proceedings.
In 2023, Bayer settled a large Roundup class-action lawsuit brought by claimants who stated they wouldn’t have bought the herbicide if a cancer warning label had been included on the packaging. This class-action suit did not involve claims that Roundup caused cancer, but because the cancers linked to Roundup use are typically diagnosed years later, claimants may also pursue separate litigation against Bayer at a later date.
In 2021, Bayer offered $2 billion to settle any future Roundup claims against the company. A San Francisco judge later denied the offer, stating that the dollar amount and the period of four years attached to the offer were insufficient.
Roundup verdicts are amounts awarded by juries to plaintiffs in trial, whereas plaintiffs can receive Roundup settlements without going to trial. Typically, jury verdicts can seem like larger amounts, but they can be appealed or reduced. Settlements are fixed amounts offered to a plaintiff that are final and are not appealed or reduced once the settlement agreement has been signed.
Individual plaintiffs have received successful court verdicts against Bayer. Some of these Roundup lawsuits awarded millions of dollars to each plaintiff, spurring Bayer to consider offering settlements to avoid future trials.
In early individual cases, courts often awarded verdicts to plaintiffs in their Roundup cancer claims against Bayer. In 2021 and 2022, there were court decisions that found in favor of Bayer. The company continues to maintain that Roundup use does not cause cancer and that the product is safe to use. Lawsuits and settlements are still ongoing.
Successful plaintiffs may have to wait two to three years to receive a Roundup settlement. Bayer has offered settlements, but it may take years to settle all claims because there are more than 100,000 active Roundup lawsuits.
Plaintiffs must sign documents for lawyers for both sides, which can be a lengthy procedure. Higher-value claims and claims that are appealed may take longer to settle.
As of June 2023, many Roundup lawsuits are still pending. Individuals who believe they have a claim may file a lawsuit against Bayer regarding concerns over using the herbicide, including product labeling issues and the negative health effects of using Roundup.
Exposure levels and length of exposure to Roundup can determine lawsuit eligibility, as can a medical diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Consult an experienced lawyer to decide whether you are eligible to file a Roundup lawsuit.
Lawyer Ken Feinberg, serving as mediator between Bayer company representatives and plaintiffs, will assist in determining the amount each plaintiff will receive. Every current and future Roundup plaintiff who has yet to receive a settlement from Bayer must participate in the program, which will streamline procedures and help plaintiffs receive settlement amounts faster.
Feinberg will consider all information received from the plaintiff and Bayer and make a settlement offer to the plaintiff based on his assessment. If the plaintiff accepts the offer, Bayer must pay that amount. This process will remove lengthy back-and-forth communication between the plaintiff’s lawyers and lawyers for Bayer and should reduce the amount of time before plaintiffs receive their settlements.
Settlement amounts could vary widely and may include payouts as low as a few thousand dollars or as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the specific case and the determination made by Feinberg. Individuals who receive a settlement for damages from a Roundup cancer lawsuit don’t typically have to pay taxes on their settlements because the IRS makes exceptions for settlements for injuries and illness. An experienced lawyer can advise whether your settlement amount will be taxed.
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