When you first learned that you had cancer, you had questions. How advanced is the condition? What can be done? And why did this happen to you?
This last question might have your doctors stumped. But if you’ve been exposed to Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, that might be the answer you’re looking for.
Research now suggests that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, may cause cancer. The greater the exposure, the greater the increase in cancer risk – but it might not take as much exposure as you would think to put your health in danger.
The Roundup lawyers at Console and Associates have 25 years of experience handling personal injury claims. Over that time, we’ve worked with law firms across the country, including those that handle Roundup lawsuits. If we cannot handle a claim, our goal is to connect you with an experienced attorney who can.
If you developed cancer and think Roundup exposure could be to blame, call today. We’ll ask you a few questions so we can help you move forward with your claim.
Wondering if you should pursue a Roundup claim? You should always speak to an attorney, but there are a few things to consider.
You should make it a priority to find out more about Roundup injury claims if:
If you’re ready to move forward with a claim right now, give us a call at (866) 778-5500, and we’ll help you get started.
Need more information? We’re here to help, advocate, and inform. Let’s explore these factors together.
The more you’re exposed to Roundup weed killer, the more this probable carcinogen can raise your cancer risk.
This means individuals who use the chemical on a regular basis are in the most danger. That said, the nature of this probable carcinogen means that it could cause an increase in cancer risk even if your exposure to the chemical was less frequent.
It’s more likely that Roundup caused your cancer if you have been exposed to the chemical over the course of your work as a:
If Roundup application was part of your job, you were probably exposed to the chemical a lot more than someone who only used the herbicide around their home. That’s one reason why a number of research studies have looked at the occupational use of glyphosate.
If you have any reason to believe that your cancer could be related to your Roundup usage, even if you haven’t worked in these occupations, it’s worth finding out more. You don’t necessarily need to have endured a higher than average rate of weed killer exposure to be in danger of a cancer risk increase.
Is home and garden use of Roundup a reason to worry? It’s possible, although not certain. An avid gardener who sprays Roundup for weeds on a regular basis – even as often as a few times during different seasons of the year – could potentially be exposed to enough glyphosate to cause harm.
If you’re concerned, it’s a good idea to discontinue the use of glyphosate-based herbicides and speak to a doctor about your risks and any symptoms you may have.
A lot of people believe that only individuals exposed to glyphosate on a weekly or daily basis, typically as part of their profession, are vulnerable to Roundup health issues. Buying into this notion is a mistake. In fact, two of the largest Roundup judgments (one of which is among the top 10 personal injury judgments ever awarded in the United States) involved claims made by plaintiffs who used the herbicide largely on their own properties.
The link between Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, and cancer is still being investigated. However, some expert witnesses have suggested that the amount of glyphosate exposure that’s sufficient to cause cancer is alarmingly small.
Physician Dennis Weisenburger, who testified in previous Roundup lawsuit trials, has suggested that using Roundup weed killers that contain glyphosate at a frequency of more than two days per year may be enough to double your likelihood of developing a certain variety of lymphoma, Courthouse News Service reported.
Generally, three categories of people can act as the plaintiff in a lawsuit that alleges that Roundup caused cancer:
To successfully move forward with a claim, you’re going to need a capable Roundup cancer attorney on your side, fighting for your best interests.
Don’t forget that Roundup has been the best-selling brand of weed control products for decades or that the brand now belongs to multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences giant Bayer. You can be sure that these companies have professional legal representation – so going without professional representation would put you at a severe disadvantage.
Glyphosate, the chemical used in Roundup and other weed killers, has been linked to a number of different cancers, but particularly non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
Researchers have studied the link between Roundup and this cancer more thoroughly than others. Learn more about Roundup and lymphoma and the other types of cancer linked to Roundup.
If you think you have cancer of any kind, you must see a doctor right away. Early detection and treatment can greatly increase your chances of survival and recovery.
Cancer can affect your life in so many ways. Your health deteriorates. You feel sick and weak all the time. It can be hard just to make it through another day of the pain. The treatment needed to fight cancer can make you feel even worse.
You can’t do the things you used to do, the things that made your life worthwhile. And your loved ones are suffering, too. You miss the life you had before you got sick.
Speaking of things you can’t do, for many cancer patients, that includes working. You’re too sick to do your job. Whether you’re missing days sporadically – only when you feel the worst – or taking an extended sick leave, this can harm your family’s financial well-being.
You shouldn’t have to worry about money at a time like this. But too many families do, especially when the medical bills start piling up. Treating cancer can cost you thousands, and often tens of thousands, of dollars. Having health insurance may not protect you as much as you think.
No matter how your cancer has affected your life, you deserve compensation for your damages. To get that money, you’re going to need to pursue a Monsanto Roundup claim.
The number-one bestselling weed killer in the world, Roundup has been a household name for decades. If you ever sprayed chemicals intended for weed elimination, either at home or as part of your job, there’s a good chance you have encountered chemicals like Roundup.
You can buy Roundup weed killer ready to use or as a concentrate to be mixed with water. Many Roundup products are sold in a sprayer or tank that uses a wand for control. The brand also sells large-capacity backpack-style sprayer tanks and refill bottles. Roundup can be purchased online or in-store at many retailers, including home improvement stores, garden centers, big box stores, and more.
Roundup’s active ingredient is called glyphosate. The synthetic chemical compound consists of a formula of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus.
Roundup is sold as a systemic herbicide, or a chemical meant to kill plants. Most Roundup users rely on the glyphosate-based concoction to get rid of unwanted plants, like weeds that creep up in their lawns or gardens and grass that grows in driveways and walkways.
However, glyphosate is a broad-spectrum, nonselective herbicide, which means that it may kill any plant it comes into contact with. That includes flowering plants, food crops, and the healthy grass of cared-for lawns. Users wanting to protect some plants while ridding their lawns and gardens of others need to avoid spraying their wanted plants or use a non-glyphosate herbicide instead (which certain Roundup products currently on the market are), according to Michigan State University.
Although Roundup is primarily used as a weed killer, glyphosate has been registered as a pesticide in the United States for decades, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
One Roundup product, Roundup For Lawns Bug Destroyer, is made especially for getting rid of insects. This non-glyphosate formula consists of active ingredients chlorantraniliprole and bifenthrin.
The maker of Roundup, Monsanto, played a crucial role in the development of the glyphosate molecule. Chemist John Franz, who worked for Monsanto’s agricultural division, discovered and synthesized glyphosate and studied its uses as an herbicide, according to the Monsanto website.
Monsanto chemist John Franz first synthesized the glyphosate molecule in 1970. By 1974, Roundup was being sold and marketed as a nonselective herbicide.
Monsanto, the original manufacturer of Roundup – the company that developed glyphosate and sold Roundup weed killer for decades – was acquired by pharmaceutical giant Bayer in June 2018.
After acquiring Monsanto, Bayer didn’t just reap the profits of continued sales of Roundup. The pharmaceutical and life sciences company also had to take on responsibility for Roundup lawsuits and has had to pay judgments and settlements to cancer patients and their families.
How Roundup works is by targeting and stopping an enzyme pathway, known as the shikimic acid pathway, according to the National Pesticide Information Center. Interfering with this enzyme stops the plant from producing the proteins it needs to grow.
The reason Roundup is considered a non-selective herbicide is because the shikimic acid pathway isn’t exclusive to weeds. Glyphosate will affect this enzyme in most plants exposed to it, which means the weed killer is just as capable of killing healthy grass, flowering plants, and food crops if applied to them (even accidentally).
Since mammals don’t have this enzyme pathway, Roundup was, for decades, considered to be safe – not for plants and bugs, but for humans, cats, dogs, and other mammals. Before the first wave of glyphosate cancer lawsuits began, Roundup had historically been listed among the least toxic pesticides, according to National Public Radio.
In fact, Monsanto once used as an advertising message the claim that Roundup was “safer than table salt.” In the 1990s, the company got in trouble with New York’s then-attorney general for making this and other advertising claims that the Associated Press characterized as “misleading” and “objectionable.”
More recent research has suggested that just because glyphosate doesn’t have the effect of stopping necessary enzymes in humans and pets that it does in plants is not an ironclad assurance of safety. Multiple research studies have presented compelling data that points to a possible connection between glyphosate and the development of cancer.
It’s the question at the crux of the tens of thousands of Roundup lawsuits: Can Roundup cause cancer?
The answer is, of course, more complex than a concrete yes or no. There are a lot of research studies to consider. There’s a level of complexity that’s inherent in distinguishing between correlation (a link or relationship) and causation (that is, Roundup exposure being the reason cancer develops).
Different public health agencies look at different criteria, which – in the case of glyphosate – has led to some agencies denying that Roundup causes cancer while others acknowledge the risks, according to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
As a cancer patient or their family member, perhaps what you most need to know is that – so far – courts have chosen to award compensation to plaintiffs whose suits allege that Roundup caused their cancer, in spite of Monsanto and Bayer’s attempts to provide evidence to the contrary.
Although the decision of a court does not prove or disprove a line of scientific inquiry, these outcomes show that, at least to judges and juries, there’s sufficient evidence linking glyphosate to cancer.
Where’s the evidence of the Roundup cancer link? It’s been published in medical and scientific journals for more than two decades. But the public has only recently learned about the danger glyphosate can pose.
And that’s not right.
When you used Roundup, you had no idea the chemical that was touted as being so safe might have the potential to significantly raise your cancer risk. If you had known, you would have done things differently – minimizing your Roundup use, taking extra precautions when spraying, or avoiding the probable carcinogen altogether.
Instead, you were kept in the dark, unaware that each spray of Roundup could be adding to your cumulative cancer risk. You have the right to make educated, informed decisions about the products you use, but you can’t do that when you don’t have all the information about how they affect your health. Now that you’ve discovered, too late, the possibility that glyphosate could play a part in developing cancer, you have the right to hold Roundup’s manufacturer accountable for the harm the product has caused you.
Glyphosate, the chemical that has formed the active ingredient in the majority of Roundup weed killer products ever since the brand has been on the market, is also the chemical ingredient most closely associated with cancer.
Some research studies – like this 2014 article in BioMed Research International – have suggested that the entire glyphosate-based formulation of herbicides like Roundup is more toxic than exposure to glyphosate on its own. However, the ongoing Roundup cancer litigation is focusing on glyphosate specifically at this time.
Whether or not glyphosate is a recognized carcinogen depends on who you ask. Public health agencies, cancer experts, and scientists haven’t yet reached a consensus on the risks of glyphosate, according to National Public Radio.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) has considered glyphosate “probably carcinogenic to humans” since 2015.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still clings to its decades-old characterization of glyphosate as “Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans,” despite having once (briefly) classified the chemical as “Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans” in the 1980s.
Monsanto and Bayer have continued to maintain that Roundup is safe to use. “The EFSA, the U.S. EPA and other regulatory authorities around the world have comprehensively and routinely reviewed glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides for more than 40 years and their conclusions consistently support the safety of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides when used as directed,” Bayer’s website states in answer to the frequently asked question “Is glyphosate safe for use?”
However, the scientific evidence Bayer and Monsanto have presented in defense of these injury claims has not prevented the company from facing approximately billions of dollars in Roundup verdict and settlement payouts since 2018.
When it comes to claims involving consumer products potentially causing cancer, the evidence of a link between the chemical and cancer is all-important. To win a claim, you need scientific proof – quantitative data that links the substance in question to a statistically significant increase in the risk of developing the types of cancer it’s alleged to have caused.
Here’s some of the evidence that supports the tens of thousands of ongoing claims alleging that Roundup glyphosate exposure can lead to cancer.
Probably the most convincing opinion on Roundup dangers is that of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A part of the World Health Organization (WHO), the IARC is an intergovernmental agency that focuses on cancer research worldwide.
According to the IARC and WHO Roundup study published in March 2015, glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans” and is classified as a Group 2A carcinogen. Carcinogens listed as Group 2A display “limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.”
The IARC defines limited evidence as meaning “that a positive association has been observed between exposure to the agent and cancer but that other explanations for the observations (called chance, bias, or confounding) could not be ruled out.” Because running experimental glyphosate exposure studies on humans would be unethical – hence the limited evidence in humans – the IARC classified glyphosate as a Group 2A “probable carcinogen” instead of a Group 1 “carcinogenic to humans” chemical.
The IARC’s characterization of glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” came as a result of a year’s worth of work reviewing 1,000 publicly available research studies on glyphosate by 17 experts from 11 nations.
Although the IARC didn’t call out glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen” until 2015, concerns over Roundup weed killer safety have lingered for decades. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first expressed concerns over the safety of glyphosate back in 1985, a decade after U.S. farmers began using the chemical as an herbicide and pesticide.
According to archived EPA documents, the agency’s Toxicology Branch Ad Hoc Committee “classified glyphosate as a Group C carcinogen” – indicating that it was “Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans” – in March 1985. The Committee based this conclusion on a research study in which mice exposed to glyphosate developed renal tumors – tumors that, the Committee noted, were rare and appeared to present in a dose-related manner.
But the EPA later changed its stance. In 1986, it downgraded the risk classification to Group D, “Not Classifiable as to Human Carcinogenicity,” and in 1991 further lowered glyphosate’s classification to Group E, which represents “Evidence of Non-carcinogenicity for Humans.”
So, despite the early warnings, Roundup has stayed on the market for decades. During that time, many agriculture and farming professionals have unknowingly exposed themselves to a probable carcinogen over and over, year in and year out.
When the WHO’s IARC concluded in 2015 that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” the startling news prompted other agencies, including the EPA, to revisit their position on the herbicide.
As a result, the EPA “performed an in-depth review of the glyphosate cancer database, including data from epidemiological, animal carcinogenicity, and genotoxicity studies.” The following year, the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs released an Evaluation of Carcinogenic Potential in which it again classified the chemical as “Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans.”
Why does the EPA’s stance on glyphosate, even after re-evaluating updated data in 2015, differ so drastically from the WHO Roundup cancer risk characterization?
One reason for the different findings is that these entities looked at different data.
“Many regulatory agencies rely primarily on industry data from toxicological studies that are not available in the public domain,” explained the IARC. “In contrast, IARC systematically assembles and evaluates all relevant evidence available in the public domain for independent scientific review.”
Further, the IARC clarifies that, “in the interests of transparency, IARC evaluations rely only on data that are in the public domain and available for independent scientific review.”
However, other evidence may suggest that there could be a more sinister reason for the EPA’s opposing viewpoint. “Collusion Or Coincidence?” asks the headline of an August 2017 HuffPost article that reveals government communications, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, between EPA officials and Monsanto.
These communications “show a persistent effort by multiple officials within the… EPA to slow a separate federal agency’s safety review of Monsanto’s top-selling herbicide,” the HuffPost article stated. “Notably, the records demonstrate that the EPA efforts came at the behest of Monsanto, and that EPA officials were helpful enough to keep the chemical giant updated on their progress.”
This and other data inspired a May 2019 opinion piece in The Guardian in which two authors – one a former cancer researcher – argue that “The EPA is meant to protect us. The Monsanto trials suggest it isn’t doing that.”
So far, the EPA’s position that Roundup weed killer and other glyphosate-based herbicides are “Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans” has not stopped plaintiffs in Roundup cancer lawsuits from prevailing. That’s largely because juries have found convincing other scientific evidence that points to a link between glyphosate and cancer.
Among these studies are:
How does glyphosate cause cancer? In a table of data published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet Oncology, the IRAC characterized the evidence of glyphosate carcinogenicity in humans as “limited” but the evidence of carcinogenicity in animals as “sufficient.” The mechanism by which glyphosate is believed to cause cancer is listed as “genotoxicity and oxidative stress.”
What genotoxicity means is that the genotoxic chemical – in this case, glyphosate – has the ability to alter the DNA. The potential changes, mutations, and damage that can occur may lead to “malignant transformation” – in other words, cancer, according to an article published in Molecular, Clinical and Environmental Toxicology.
In the same Monographs in which the agency classified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen,” the IARC reported that “Glyphosate also caused DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells, although it gave negative results in tests using bacteria.” Further, the IARC noted, “One study in community residents reported increases in blood markers of chromosomal damage (micronuclei) after glyphosate formulations were sprayed nearby.”
Essentially, exposure to Roundup glyphosate may have the potential to alter the contents of your DNA. Since cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, a chemical compound that could cause abnormal changes and damage in cells has the potential to cause or contribute to the development of cancer.
Thanks to a 2004 research study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, there’s scientific evidence that Roundup users become exposed to the chemical. The researchers found detectable levels of glyphosate in the urine of the majority of farmers – 60% – on the day they applied the herbicide.
Lawsuits that allege that Roundup caused cancer are typically filed by individuals who personally sprayed the chemical. Even if you were not involved in the application, you might also be exposed to glyphosate if you touch an area that has been treated with Roundup, particularly while the product is still wet.
Some of the ways in which you might be exposed to Roundup include:
Potential side effects from glyphosate include:
Of course, these side effects pale in comparison to the more serious danger of developing cancer from exposure to a probable human carcinogen. The Roundup lawsuits currently being pursued are on behalf of users who developed cancer, rather than these annoying but short-term side effects.
If you’ve ever set out to buy Roundup weed killer spray, you might have an idea how many different types of the herbicide are on the market.
Even before the studies that link glyphosate to cancer emerged, users had so many options to choose from that it was difficult to determine which Roundup to use.
Now that you know the risks and are wondering if the weed killer is to blame for your cancer, figuring out which kind of Roundup poses the greatest risks – not to mention which of the many present or past iterations of Roundup weed killer you used – can seem overwhelming.
Which Roundup products cause cancer? Generally, the ingredient that is linked to Roundup cancer cases is glyphosate.
This is what the ongoing Roundup lawsuits are alleging: that glyphosate is a carcinogen and that manufacturer Monsanto (now acquired by Bayer) exposed users to the potentially cancer-causing chemical.
Glyphosate is an active ingredient in the following forms of Roundup currently on the market as of December 2020, according to the manufacturer’s official website:
Glyphosate was part of the Roundup formula from the time the weed killer first made it onto the market in 1973. Not all Roundup products manufactured over the years have contained glyphosate, but if you took a version of Roundup that was discontinued, there’s a good chance it included glyphosate – especially if it was on the market prior to 2017.
The Roundup glyphosate percentage that appears in different products varies drastically – from over 50% in Monsanto’s most powerful weed killer concentrate to just 1% in ready-to-use versions.
The table below lists the percentage of glyphosate and other active ingredients found in Roundup products on the market as of December 2020, according to the manufacturer’s website.
What this means is that determining your level of risk from Roundup exposure isn’t as easy as looking at the percentage of the active ingredient. Once mixed according to the Roundup directions, concentrated versions of the weed killer product may expose you to an amount of glyphosate that’s comparable to the ready-to-use formulations.As you can see, concentrated forms of Roundup contain the most glyphosate, with the Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Super Concentrate product containing a lot more of the chemical than any other product. That’s because the concentrates are made to be diluted.
Although Roundup is known for the active ingredient glyphosate – with Monsanto having created and patented the chemical molecule as an herbicide – there are non-glyphosate Roundup products on the market.
Here’s a list of Roundup weed killer products without glyphosate and what active ingredients they use instead:
If a Roundup product doesn’t contain glyphosate, does it still pose a risk? That’s not totally clear based on current research.
In 2018, preliminary findings from studies conducted by the National Toxicology Program demonstrated that glyphosate formulations were, in the words of the laboratory’s acting chief Mike DeVito, “much more toxic” than glyphosate molecules on their own, The Guardian reported.
Ongoing investigations will hopefully shed some light on this finding in the future to explain whether these other ingredients simply amplify the effects of glyphosate or whether these non-glyphosate ingredients (active or inactive) could pose their own dangers.
Given the severity of the alleged risks and the success of Roundup lawsuit claims so far, many former users of the weed killer are now choosing to steer clear of the chemicals. There’s certainly no further health risk from choosing not to expose your body to glyphosate going forward.
If you do plan to use Roundup – non-glyphosate or otherwise – be sure to take precautions.
It’s also a good idea to talk to your doctor about your worries regarding Roundup health risks. Your doctor can help you understand your risk factors for the kinds of cancer most closely linked to Roundup usage and inform you of the symptoms to watch out for and any screenings that could help facilitate early detection.
Most Monsanto Roundup Lawsuits are filed by patients who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), which is a kind of blood cancer.
The evidence of a link between glyphosate and cancer is strongest for this type of cancer, so these cases are the ones most likely to result in a successful Roundup lawsuit payout.
Aside from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, there is some evidence of a possible link between the glyphosate found in Roundup and other kinds of cancer, including:
Glyphosate may also be linked to certain other types of cancer, possibly including:
Associations between glyphosate exposure and these kinds of cancers have not been studied as thoroughly and are generally considered weaker compared to the connection between Roundup and NHL. Part of the evidence that does suggest a potential link to these different varieties of cancer are the disturbing trends in cancer rate increases among populations living where glyphosate herbicides are heavily used, according to the BBC.
If you believe that Roundup exposure may have played a part in developing a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, you should reach out to an attorney right away. If you developed a different kind of cancer but still think Roundup is to blame, you can still reach out to an attorney to find out what options may be available to you. Even if claims haven’t yet been filed over the type of cancer you have, new litigation may eventually begin as research findings continue to accumulate.
Of course, no matter what kind of cancer you have or what caused it, it’s imperative that you work with your healthcare providers to have the best possible prognosis and outcome for your situation.
Much of the evidence of Roundup causing cancer relates to lymphoma. Lymphoma is a blood cancer, but there are different subtypes of this kind of cancer.
Hodgkin lymphoma develops in the blood and bone marrow but happens to be one of the most curable forms of cancer, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is different because it is more likely to affect the lymph nodes and tissues.
Different forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma grow at different speeds – some slowly, but others aggressively. Not only is non-Hodgkin lymphoma sometimes more difficult to cure, but it’s also the form of cancer most closely linked to Roundup.
A number of studies completed around the world point to a connection between Roundup and lymphoma.
A Canadian study found that the more subjects were exposed to glyphosate, the greater the risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention reported in 2001.
Just two years later, researchers in the United States found a similar link when studying Roundup exposure and NHL incidence among Midwest farmworkers, according to the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal.
How much does Roundup increase cancer risk? It’s hard to put a number on it, but Swedish researchers found some alarming data in 2008. They found that exposure to glyphosate doubles your risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma within the next 10 years, the International Journal of Cancer reported.
And a study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington concluded in 2019 that, among individuals with the highest amount of glyphosate exposure, “we report the overall meta-relative risk… of NHL in GBH-exposed individuals was increased by 41%.”
There are several subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Two of the ways in which non-Hodgkin lymphomas are categorized include the kind of cells affected (B lymphocytes or T lymphocytes) and whether its growth is aggressive or indolent (slow), according to the American Cancer Society.
B-cell lymphoma subtypes include:
T-cell lymphomas are rarer, accounting for less than 15% of non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnoses in America, and are generally split into one of two categories:
Closely related to lymphoma is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which makes up about a third of leukemia cases. Like lymphoma, CLL affects lymphocyte cells. CLL begins in the bone marrow and is such a slow-growing cancer that not all patients diagnosed with it need to undergo treatment right away, the American Cancer Society reported. The five-year relative survival rate for CLL is above 86%, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Although different forms of NHL can affect the body in different ways, here are some of the symptoms that could suggest that testing for lymphoma is in order, according to the American Cancer Society:
Having these symptoms doesn’t mean that you have cancer. Many of these symptoms can also be caused by other, benign conditions, such as an infection. However, it’s always a good idea to see a doctor when you have any unusual symptoms, especially when they could be symptoms of cancer – and when you have been exposed to a probable carcinogen like glyphosate.
Suppose you did have some of these symptoms, so you saw a doctor and got some tests done. The results were exactly what you didn’t want to hear: you have cancer.
Once your treatment plan is underway, you should turn your attention to your legal matter. There is sufficient evidence of a Roundup lymphoma link that other cancer patients have already won jury awards and received out-of-court settlements.
Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, has consistently argued against allegations and data evaluations that link glyphosate with cancer.
In a 2017 Reuters article, then-vice president of global strategy at Monsanto Scott Partridge was quoted as claiming that “IARC members manipulated and distorted scientific data” to reach the conclusion that glyphosate was a probable carcinogen.
In Monsanto’s attempts to defend itself against the lawsuits and get out of paying compensation to cancer patients and their families, the company has, naturally, retained its own expert witnesses. These professionals are hired to present their arguments for why Roundup is safe to use – from their perspective – in spite of the IARC’s classification of the chemical as a probable human carcinogen.
But evidence that has come to light has cast doubt on the integrity of the science on which Monsanto and Bayer have based their arguments. These Monsanto secret documents have become known as “the Monsanto Papers.”
To quote a 2018 article published in The International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, the 141 internal documents that were made public during Roundup lawsuits exposed:
“Monsanto-sponsored ghostwriting of articles published in toxicology journals and the lay media, interference in the peer review process, behind-the-scenes influence on retraction and the creation of a so-called academic website as a front for the defense of Monsanto products.”
The authors of this article referred to the effect of the Monsanto Papers as “poisoning the scientific well” and concluded that “the use of third-party academics in the corporate defense of glyphosate reveals that this practice extends beyond the corruption of medicine and persists in spite of efforts to enforce transparency in industry manipulation.”
“Evidence revealed in the trial included internal Monsanto records that included discussions of ‘ghostwriting’ scientific papers that asserted the safety of its products and plans to discredit an international agency that declared the main ingredient in Roundup, a chemical called glyphosate, to be a probable human carcinogen,” reported TIME, referencing the trial of Dewayne Johnson v. Monsanto Company, in which a jury awarded the plaintiff $289 million in compensation (an amount that was later reduced).
It’s no surprise, given the contents of these documents that have surfaced, that Roundup lawsuit lawyers handling these claims are alleging that Monsanto failed to warn users of a risk that the company knew or should have known about. If the sources of the scientific studies that speak to the safety of a chemical are called into question due to potential bias or conflict of interest, it raises concerns about the data produced by those studies.
It’s hard to imagine any reason good enough to justify covering up a danger like the potential of a significant increase in cancer risk. In general, when lawsuits allege that a product manufacturer failed to warn users of a hazard, it’s often the case that the company was putting their own profits above the lives of their own customers. The more profitable the product, the greater the incentive for a company to downplay, deny, or attempt to hide those risks.
As consumer products go, Roundup is certainly a profitable one. Over its decades on the market, it became a household name – and, the EPA reported, glyphosate is “the most commonly used herbicide in the United States.” In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, glyphosate has been the most widely used herbicide in the country since 2001. As of 2016, Newsweek called glyphosate “the most heavily-used agricultural chemical in the history of the world.”
In 2015, Roundup made Monsanto $4.8 billion in worldwide revenue, according to Reuters. A June 2018 CBS article reported that Monsanto had enjoyed an 8% increase in revenue in the previous year – even after the IARC classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen – as a result of “higher global sales of glyphosate.”
Now that you know the truth about Roundup weed killer and cancer, you’re starting to see how much harm Monsanto Roundup has caused you. You’re realizing that you need to take action. If the manufacturer doesn’t have to face the consequences, there’s no telling how many others will develop cancer from Roundup, just like you did.
But getting a Roundup injury lawsuit started can seem like a daunting task. Where do you even start?
Roundup lawsuit lawyer, Richard P. Console Jr.
We know there’s nothing easy about coping with a cancer diagnosis. That’s why attorneys handling Roundup lawsuits have done all we can to make the claims process easy on families that are already facing a cancer battle.
All you really have to do is contact a lawyer. Once you take that simple step – by phone, email, or chat – we’ll handle the rest.
Of course, an attorney will need to gather some information to be able to get started helping you. We will ask you questions about topics like:
Provide as much information to an attorney as you can, and we’ll help with the rest by having your medical records reviewed by experts and calculating all of your present and future damages. The more we know about your unique situation, the better we can advise you on your options, what the claims process may look like for you, and what happens next.
Check out our step-by-step guide to filing a Roundup lawsuit.
In February 2021, Roundup manufacturer Bayer (which owns Monsanto) finalized a long-awaited settlement that would provide $2 billion for future Roundup cancer claims that emerge over a period of four years, according to Reuters.
Prior to this development, Monsanto and Bayer had been attempting to resolve the last of the 125,000 Roundup cancer claims that had been filed. As of November 2020, 88,500 of those claims had been resolved, according to Insurance Journal, which still left thousands upon thousands of Roundup yard spray claims in the process of settlement or litigation. Of course, these numbers didn’t account for any future claims that Roundup users newly diagnosed with cancer could still file against Bayer.
Is it too late to start a Roundup cancer lawsuit? Not yet, depending on when you were diagnosed with cancer. Different states use a different Roundup lawsuit statute of limitations to determine how long plaintiffs have to file a claim.
The sooner you reach out to an attorney to find out what deadlines apply to your claim, the sooner you get the peace of mind that you won’t miss your opportunity to hold Monsanto and Bayer accountable.
There are different types of Roundup lawsuits going on. Although you may have heard about Roundup class action lawsuits, these cases – in which a group of plaintiffs files one single claim together against the same company for causing similar harms – are likely not your best option when you have been diagnosed with cancer.
Generally, the Monsanto Roundup class action litigation is focused on misleading labeling on the part of the manufacturer. A Roundup class action generally won’t get you compensation for the unique and significant harms you suffered as a result of developing cancer. For that, you will need to pursue an individual personal injury claim.
Although individual personal injury claims are filed with you as the only plaintiff, your claim may be consolidated into ongoing Multi-District Litigation (MDL). A Roundup MDL is not the same as a class action over misleading labeling. For pre-trial proceedings, your claim and attorney can share resources, including evidence and data, with other, similar individual cases – but your case will still be resolved as an individual claim.
That means you and your lawyer are making decisions about whether to accept a Roundup lawsuit settlement offer, try to negotiate a larger settlement amount, or proceed to trial.
Following the February 2021 development of a $2 billion settlement set aside for future Roundup users who develop cancer, potential claimants might wonder what to expect if they move forward with a claim.
An attorney can help you seek compensation through this fund. Claimants who move forward with a claim as part of the class to whom this settlement was awarded are eligible to receive up to $200,000, according to Reuters, but you also have the option of taking your case to court if you and your attorney believe you are entitled to more compensation.
It’s too early to say how any one person’s future Roundup cancer claim would fare if you opted to take a settlement as part of this class or take your individual case to trial, and in any case, this decision depends on the unique factors of your claim. What we can tell you is that, by choosing an experienced Roundup attorney who is familiar with product liability claims in general and glyphosate cancer matters in particular, you are putting your case in capable hands that will be prepared for whatever comes next.
When you pursue a Roundup lawsuit, you will have the chance to hold the weed killer’s manufacturer accountable.
This means discovering the truth about the company’s negligent behaviors, which can help you finally answer the question of why this happened.
It also means seeking money damages to pay for all that you have lost because of getting cancer.
The prospect of standing up to a massive multinational corporation, which is exactly what happens in Roundup (glyphosate) cancer cases, may be intimidating. But you don’t have to do it alone.
A Roundup injury attorney can take the pressure off of your family. The attorney we put you in contact with will handle all aspects of the claim, including:
Monsanto won’t back down, and neither will your attorney. You’ll only have one chance to get the compensation your family deserves, so you need your claim in the hands of a law firm known for meticulous case preparation and tireless dedication to getting you results.
A simple, toll-free call is all it takes to get your Roundup lawsuit started. We will gather your information and answer your questions during a free, confidential consultation. If it seems like you have the grounds for a claim, we’ll walk you through the next steps in officially retaining legal representation.
Having a professional handle your case for you – getting you the full amount of compensation you deserve and taking on the hassles of the legal matter – may sound too good to be true. Does the list of all the ways an attorney can help you have you skeptically asking, “How much will it cost to hire a Roundup lawyer?”
You’re not alone. Worries over the cost of legal representation are so common that, in our study of public opinion about lawyers and lawsuits, more than 50% of people identified the cost of legal representation as the main factor that would make them reluctant to hire an attorney.
This notion that hiring a lawyer for an injury matter is prohibitively expensive is a myth – but, unfortunately, it’s so widely believed that it routinely keeps people who need a lawyer from getting one.
Here’s the truth about affording an attorney for a Roundup cancer lawsuit:
When a Roundup lawyer handles cases on a contingency basis, everyone can afford an attorney, no matter how much their medical bills cost, how much income they have missed out on due to cancer, or other financial factors.
That’s because every family affected by a cancer that may have been preventable deserves the opportunity to seek justice, regardless of their financial situation.
In Roundup cancer claims, as in other types of personal injury matters, it’s hard to calculate a precise settlement amount without knowing all of the facts. That’s because Roundup lawsuit settlement amounts depend on the specific information that’s unique to you as an individual (and to your family).
How much money you could receive depends upon the losses you sustained because of your cancer. In the legal arena, we call the harm you suffered in an accident, including accidental exposure to a carcinogenic chemical, damages.
The purpose of the Roundup settlement you’re seeking is, generally, to pay for those damages in a financial way – even if the damages themselves are not strictly monetary in nature.
Some damages are economic damages, based on financial losses. These damages have a clear numerical figure associated with them.
Although your economic damages are sometimes projected, meaning that they’re calculated to take into account the likely future costs and financial harms caused by your condition, they can be quantified.
Economic damages include:
Other damages are what we call non-economic, because there’s no objective numerical figure that corresponds with them. These losses are difficult to put a price on, but you still deserve to be compensated for them.
Some of the non-economic damages you can sue for in a Roundup claim include:
If you lost a loved one to cancer caused by Roundup, then your family may have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim against Monsanto.
In a Roundup wrongful death action, you might seek compensation for the economic costs of the loss of your loved one, like the loss of the income you were counting on to support your family.
You can also hold the defendant accountable for non-economic losses, like the loss of the love, affection, companionship, emotional support, and advice your family member would have provided, had cancer not taken their life.
In certain situations, a court will sometimes award the plaintiff a sum of money in the form of punitive damages. This means that you would be awarded money not to compensate you for economic, non-economic, or wrongful death damages but instead to punish the defendant.
Punitive damages are awarded in trials, not given as part of settlements, and are relatively rare. However, in the Roundup cancer injury trials that have already occurred, juries have awarded billions of dollars in total punitive damages. In some instances, judges have later reduced punitive damage awards.
Punitive damages are far from guaranteed. Your attorney can help you understand the likelihood of receiving punitive damages in your lawsuit claim and work with you to figure out a range of how much money you can expect to receive in terms of total compensation.
Yes. In spite of Bayer and Monsanto’s continued insistence that glyphosate is safe, plaintiffs have repeatedly seen victories in Roundup cancer lawsuits. Both in the courtroom and outside it, attorneys are successfully getting compensation, in the form of jury awards and settlements, for cancer patients and their families.
Yes. In 2018 and 2019, three Roundup lawsuits proceeded to trial and ended in victory for the plaintiffs. Many more cases have been resolved through settlements outside the courtroom.
A February 2021 settlement of $2 billion created a fund to pay future settlements over a four-year period, according to Reuters. Despite the option to seek a settlement as part of this class, more trials may still move forward.
Disclaimer: Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
The jury at the Superior Court of California awarded a former school groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, $250 million in punitive damages and about $39 million in compensatory damages, CNN reported. Johnson, 46, alleged that heavy contact with the herbicide caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The state Superior Court jury agreed that Roundup contributed to Johnson’s cancer and that Monsanto should have added a Roundup label warning of the potential health hazard.
A San Francisco jury awarded Edwin Hardeman $80 million in compensation after concluding that glyphosate exposure was a “substantial factor” in causing the 70-year-old to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to National Public Radio. Hardeman reported that he had used Roundup on his own property – consisting of 56 acres of land – for decades.
A jury in Oakland, California, awarded compensation in excess of $2 billion to a married couple in their 70s, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, according to The New York Times. Alva Pilliod was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2011, and his wife was subsequently diagnosed with NHL in 2015. Both had used Roundup glyphosate weed killer for decades. Although the award was later reduced, the original verdict landed a spot among the top ten largest personal injury verdicts in the history of the U.S.
Bayer agreed to a $2 billion settlement to pay future claims over a four-year period, according to Reuters. Future claimants are not locked into accepting a settlement as part of a class and may still move forward with an individual lawsuit and trial if they want to, on the advice of their attorney.
Given the three huge trial awards in which jurors had favored plaintiffs by mid-2019, it’s no surprise that Roundup’s manufacturer has since shown a willingness to settle the claims against it, despite continuing to maintain that Roundup herbicide is safe to use.
Under Bayer’s Roundup settlement update in June 2020, the company had reached a deal to settle around 75% of the 125,000 Roundup lawsuits against the company. The company expected to pay between $10.1 billion and $10.9 billion in total, with between $8.8 billion and $9.6 billion paid to current plaintiffs and another $1.25 billion set aside to pay future claims.
Settlement amounts for Roundup lawsuit plaintiffs under that deal could range from $5,000 to $250,000, according to The New York Times, but the average Roundup settlement amount would likely be in the $160,000 range, Environmental Health News reported.
Under the February 2021 settlement that established $2 billion of compensation for future claims over a period of four years, claimants who filed their cases after that date could recover settlement amounts of up to $200,000, Reuters reported.
No one should have to fight cancer. But knowing there’s a chance that your cancer was preventable, caused by exposure to a chemical you could have avoided if you’d only known the dangers, just makes it even worse – and even more unfair.
If you believe your cancer battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a result of years of exposure to the chemical Monasato claimed was safe, you don’t have to just allow the company to get away with the harm it has caused. And you don’t have to face this situation alone, either.
The only sure way to find out if you are eligible for a Roundup lawsuit is to reach out to a products liability lawyer – the sooner, the better. To speak with a legal professional about your Roundup cancer claim, call (866) 778-5500 today.
“Tens of thousands of claims.” That’s how The New York Times characterized the number of Roundup cancer lawsuits that manufacturer Bayer was facing as of June 2020. By November, there were 125,000 Roundup claims, according to Insurance Journal.
It’s not so surprising how many roundup plaintiffs there are, since the first Roundup lawsuits were filed in October 2015 and many law firms are still taking on new cases. However, the window of time to file a new Roundup cancer claim is closing.
If you think you may have a case, you need to get the ball rolling right away. Your legal rights to take action against a company that caused you harm with its defective products won’t last long. These rights are restricted by a statute of limitations, which requires you to file your claim by a certain deadline or waive your right to seek compensation.
Cancer patients in some states may have as little as one year from their diagnosis to file a Roundup lawsuit. Even in states that give you more time, the sooner you take action, the better. You don’t want to miss an important deadline, and your family needs this compensation to cope with the physical, emotional, and financial consequences of your cancer.
It may not be not too late – yet – to move forward with a Roundup cancer claim. Call (866) 778-5500 to get started today.
Money alone won’t cure your cancer. If you’re wondering why you should bother with the hassle of a lawsuit, here are some of the reasons why other cancer patients have chosen to move forward with legal action:
Roundup lawsuit legal team at Console and Associates P.C.
Although a payout alone won’t undo the harm that has been done, it can make some aspects of this situation easier and more manageable for you and your family. Here are some of the ways plaintiffs can use their Roundup settlement checks:
You should also know that moving forward with a claim doesn’t have to add to your stress. Your attorney will handle everything, from having your medical records reviewed by experts to representing you in every legal proceeding. All you have to do is focus on your health and wellbeing and let your lawyer take care of the rest.
1970 – Monsanto chemist John Franz synthesizes glyphosate
Interested in the latest Roundup updates? We’ve got the information you need to keep current on Roundup settlement news.
Console and Associates, P.C.
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Marlton, NJ 08053
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