US: Couple awarded over $2bn in damages over cancer-causing weed killer

It is the third consecutive verdict against Bayer over its glyphosate-based Roundup product – and the largest yet.

The damages totalled $2.055bn after more than $55 million in compensatory damages were added.

“The jury saw for themselves internal company documents demonstrating that, from day one, Monsanto has never had any interest in finding out whether Roundup is safe,” said the plaintiff’s lawyer, Brent Wisner.

“Instead of investing in sound science, they invested millions in attacking science that threatened their business agenda.”

Bayer acquired the weed killer as part of its $63bn dollar purchase of Monsanto in 2018.

“Unlike the first two Monsanto trials, where the judges severely limited the amount of plaintiffs’ evidence, we were finally allowed to show a jury the mountain of evidence showing Monsanto’s manipulation of science, the media and regulatory agencies to forward their own agenda despite Roundup’s severe harm to the animal kingdom and humankind,” said lawyer Michael Miller, co-lead trial counsel.

Bayer faces more than 13,400 US lawsuits over the alleged cancer risk of the herbicide.