What Is The Average Settlement For A Roundup Weed Killer Cancer Lawsuit?

As of September 2019, herbicide manufacturer Monsanto and parent company Bayer AG has not agreed to any settlements with plaintiffs in Roundup weed killer cancer lawsuits. The ongoing multidistrict litigation, MDL 2741, has received verdicts in three bellwether trials.

To date, all three juries in the cases that have gone to trial have confirmed a link between the glyphosate-based herbicide and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The courts ordered the manufacturers of Roundup weedkiller to pay our large punitive damages in each case, even after reducing the totals recommended by the respective juries in each case.

SETTLEMENTS MAY BE FORTHCOMING IN ROUNDUP WEED KILLER CANCER CASES

Monsanto continues to deny any link between the world’s most popular weed killer and the blood cancer, but two juries in California state court and one in federal court disagree.

This type of landslide win in a bellwether case often results in corporations considering the best way to minimize their losses, often resulting in a global settlement offer or offers for individual settlements with plaintiffs. Whether Monsanto and Bayer AG opt to do either of these remains to be seen as of September 2019, but the stage was set by significant court awards and large punitive awards in the bellwether trials. There is currently no way of knowing what the average settlement for a Roundup weed killer cancer lawsuit will—or could—be.

PLAINTIFFS TOOK MONSANTO TO COURT AND WON BIG

The jury in the first Roundup herbicide cancer lawsuit to receive a verdict agreed with the plaintiff that exposure to the weed killer caused his cancer, and juries in the next two cases to go to trial confirmed the link. All three plaintiffs walked away with millions of dollars, even after the trial judges reduced the awards handed down by the juries.

A SCHOOL GROUNDSKEEPER IS THE FIRST TO RECEIVE A VERDICT

Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a school groundskeeper from California, was the first case to receive a verdict. This case was heard in a state court in California.

According to the Guardian, the jury sided with Johnson. It agreed Monsanto’s herbicide caused his terminal cancer and ordered the company to pay $289 million in damages, including $250 million in punitive damages. The judge in the trial reduced the total to $39 million in compensatory damages and $39 million in punitive damages for a total of $78 million.

ANOTHER CASE IN CALIFORNIA STATE COURT LEADS TO THE LARGEST JURY AWARD YET

The second case to go before a jury in a California state court included two plaintiffs—a couple who said they used about a gallon of Roundup each week at their four rental properties and had for decades. Both developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

According to Reuters, the jury sided with the plaintiffs and ordered Monsanto and Bayer AG to pay $55 million in compensatory damages and $1 billion to each of the plaintiffs for punitive damages. The court, however, slashed this total, reducing it to $17 million in compensatory damages and $69 million in punitive damages for an $86.7 million total.

TALK TO A ROUNDUP WEED KILLER CANCER ATTORNEY

While there is no way to know what the average settlement for a Roundup weed killer cancer lawsuit is by looking at the outcome of previous cases or settlements, there is a reason to be optimistic when you consider the victories the plaintiffs scored in the first three trials.

If you used Roundup weed killer and later developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Zanes Law will review your case for free. Call (833) 214-0917 now to get started.