Homeowners with lawns and gardens have filed lawsuits against Bayer, as have farmers, horticulturalists, landscapers, and other professionals who work the soil. Should you be one of them? They allege the company knew all along that Roundup can cause non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but failed to warn consumers.
In order to help you decide whether to file a Roundup lawsuit, this blog entry provides information in an FAQ format about Roundup and its relationship to cancer. Q&As include:
Who can participate in a Roundup lawsuit
What is the statute of limitations for filing a Roundup claim?
Can I take part in a Roundup settlement if I smoke tobacco?
What do I need to prove in a Roundup lawsuit?
What is the latest Roundup lawsuit update?
What is Roundup?
Does Roundup cause cancer?
What is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?
What is chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
How might you be exposed to Roundup?
Who owns Roundup?
Do they still sell Roundup?
Is Roundup banned in other countries?
What is the average Roundup lawsuit settlement per person
What is the cost to hire a Roundup lawyer?
1. Who can participate in a Roundup lawsuit?
The primary requirement for participating in a Roundup lawsuit is a verifiable diagnosis of non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma (see 8) or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (see 9). If you meet that requirement, then you additionally must be able to prove a personal history of using Roundup at home or work.
Proving usage can be done with receipts, invoices from your lawn service, or partially-filled bottles that are incidentally in your possession. If you used Roundup in your job, documenting the standard operating procedures (SOP) by which you did so can provide convincing evidence.
Evidence you provide about your Roundup usage can also help substantiate the extent of your exposure, and people who have been exposed to Roundup daily for long periods of time will naturally have a stronger claim than those who only had occasional or infrequent exposure.
Cancers resulting from exposure to glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) minimally take 24 months to develop. Thus, the court will consider the amount of time from when you first used Roundup to when you were first diagnosed with cancer. If it’s significantly less than 24 months, then it is unlikely your illness can be legally attributed to Roundup.
Bear in mind that there are legal parameters by which you can document and present evidence that links your cancer to Roundup; and you must make sure to file your claim within your state’s deadline for doing so, which are two reasons why it is important to retain a Roundup lawsuit attorney now—not later (see 2).
Your Roundup attorney can guide you about what evidence to collect and how to do so, ensuring that it adds credibility to your case.
2. What is the statute of limitations for filing a Roundup claim?
Various states have differing deadlines for filing a personal injury lawsuit, usually somewhere between two and four years. And some states might have special deadlines for certain kinds of product liability litigation—and Roundup might be among them. Your Roundup attorney can tell you if your state has a different deadline for filing a Roundup lawsuit. And remember that your Roundup lawsuit will be dismissed if you fail to meet the statute of limitations deadline.
3. Can I take part in a Roundup settlement if I smoke tobacco?
Probably not. Tobacco is a confounder legally speaking, meaning that using it can just as well be the cause of your cancer as might Roundup or anything else. Other confounders that likely disqualify you from a Roundup lawsuit are the use of immunosuppressants, prior radiation or chemotherapy treatments, diagnosed HIV/AIDS, exposure to Agent Orange, or repeated exposure to other carcinogens.
4. What do I need to prove in a Roundup lawsuit?
After proving usage (see 1), there are a number of legal arguments your Roundup attorney can bring to bear to advance your case. Among them:
Defective design. Your attorney argues that the design of Roundup was defective because it did not perform as safely as any reasonable buyer would assume.
Failure to warn. Your attorney argues that Roundup lacked appropriate warnings concerning the health risks associated with using the product.
Negligent design. Your attorney argues that Monsanto was unreasonably careless and failed to meet its legal duty to buyers in designing Roundup.
Negligent failure to warn. Your attorney argues that Monsanto was unreasonably careless in its failure to warn consumers regarding risks associated with Roundup.
5. What is the latest Roundup lawsuit update?
New Roundup lawsuits continue to be filed. As of last month (April 2022), Monsanto reached settlements in close to 100,000 Roundup lawsuits by negotiating block settlements with lawyers who have large numbers of cases in the litigation, paying out about $11 billion in total.
That is about 80 percent of pending claims, leaving about 26,000 unsettled Roundup lawsuits—most filed in state courts. However, there remain over 4,000 claims in a California MDL class action lawsuit.
6. What is Roundup?
Roundup is an herbicide that contains glyphosate. It kills broadleaf plants and grasses when applied to their leaves. Glyphosate was first registered in the U.S. in 1974. It’s now one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States for agriculture and forestry, as well as for lawns and gardens. It is also used to control weed growth in some industrial and aquatic settings.
Glyphosate works by blocking a plant’s shikimic acid pathway, which is a seven-step metabolic route used by plants for the biosynthesis of folates and aromatic amino acids. By doing so, glyphosate prevents a plant from producing certain proteins that it requires for growth.
Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, which means it will kill most plants. There are over 750 products for sale in the United States that contain it (see source).
7. Does Roundup cause cancer?
Glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Roundup, is classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization.
However, as of this writing, “the EPA continues to find that there are no risks of concern to human health when (Roundup) is used in accordance with its current label (see source).”
These conflicting claims about Roundup and whether it causes cancer, of course, weakened damage claims against Monsanto. But during the last few years, various Roundup court cases have illuminated (through trial discovery) a number of internal emails in which Monsanto employees expressed knowledge and concern about growing evidence of Roundup cancer.
There is also extant evidence that Monsanto scientists discussed ghostwriting scientific literature denying Roundups toxicity; some trial evidence revealed that Monsanto was courting “friendly” EPA officials for support of Roundup, and secret payments were being made to groups like the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) in order to promote Roundup safety.
In sum, there is credible evidence that Monsanto has known for several decades that Roundup is carcinogenic, but chose to hide the connection because the product is and was a cash cow.
8. What is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is one form of Roundup cancer. It begins in the lymphatic system, which is integral to the human body’s germ-fighting immune system. White blood cells called lymphocytes begin to grow abnormally, forming tumors throughout the body.
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a general category of lymphoma. There are many subtypes, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. Common symptoms include:
Enlarged lymph nodes
Swollen belly
Abdominal pain
Chest pain or pressure
Shortness of breath or cough
Fever
Weight loss
Anemia
Night sweats or chills
Chronic fatigue
Nausea or vomiting
Loss of appetite
Skin rash
Headaches
Difficulty with movement
Advances in diagnosis and treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have brightened the outlook for a person with the disease, making it all the more important for him or her to be adequately compensated in order to pay for present and future treatment, as well as for the pain and suffering incurred (See source).
9. What is chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow, which is the spongy tissue inside your body’s bones where blood cells are produced.
It is called "chronic" because this type of leukemia usually progresses more slowly than other types. And "lymphocytic" refers to the cells affected by the disease, which are a class of white blood cells called lymphocytes. Symptoms can include the following:
Weakness
Feeling tired
Weight loss
Chills
Fever
Night sweats
Swollen lymph nodes (often felt as lumps under the skin)
Pain or a sense of "fullness" in the belly (this can make someone feel full after only a small meal), which is caused by an enlarged spleen and/or liver
There are treatments to help control the disease, which (as in 8) make it imperative for Roundup victims of the illness to realize adequate compensation to pay for present and future treatment, as well as for the pain and suffering they incur.
10. How might you be exposed to Roundup?
People are exposed to Roundup when they get it on their skin, in their eyes, or inhale it as they are applying it. People might ingest some Roundup if they eat or smoke after applying it without first washing their hands. They might also be exposed by touching plants that are still wet with an application of Roundup.
The active ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate. Pure glyphosate is low in toxicity, but products such as Roundup usually contain other ingredients that accelerate its absorption by a plant, making them more toxic than glyphosate alone. E.g. polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA).
Symptoms of inhaling products such as Roundup are nose and throat irritation. Symptoms of inadvertently swallowing them are increased saliva, mouth and throat burns, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Intentional ingestion can be fatal.
Dogs, cats, and other pets are at risk if they touch or eat plants that are still wet with Roundup or other products containing glyphosate. They might drool, vomit, have diarrhea, become anorexic, or seem sleepy.
Roundup binds tightly to soil and can persist in it for up to six months, depending on local climate and soil type.
11. Who owns Roundup?
Roundup is the brand name of a glyphosate-based herbicide originally produced by Monsanto, now owned by Bayer. Monsanto developed and patented glyphosate in the 1970s and marketed it as Roundup. As of 2009, sales of Roundup herbicides represented about 10 percent of Monsanto's revenue (see source).
German chemical company Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018. The name Monsanto is no longer used, but previous Monsanto brand names have been maintained, including Roundup. (see source).
12. Do they still sell Roundup?
As a way to reduce future lawsuits, Bayer is phasing out sales of Roundup for residential use starting in 2023. It will remain available for agricultural use. However, some plaintiffs are claiming to have developed cancer up to 15 years after exposure to Roundup, meaning Bayer will likely face litigation for more than a decade after it pulls Roundup from the residential market (see source).
13. Is Roundup banned in other countries?
Argentina
Australia (in some states)
Austria
Bahrain
Barbados
Belgium
Bermuda
Brazil
Canada (8 out of 10 provinces)
Colombia
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Denmark
El Salvador
Fiji
France
Germany
India
Italy
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Oman
Portugal
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Slovenia
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Thailand
Vietnam
14. What is the average Roundup lawsuit settlement per person?
This is a difficult question because most settlement agreements are confidential, which makes getting details difficult to impossible. Also, many Roundup cases are grouped and tried together in an MDL process, so individual settlements are relatively rare. All that said, it is speculated that individuals will see between $5,000 to $200,000 each, depending on any number of unknown factors (see source).
15. What is the cost to hire a Roundup lawyer?
Galindo Law does not charge any upfront or out-of-pocket fees. We are only paid a percentage of the compensation we are able to secure for you. So by working with Galindo Law, you incur zero financial risk.
With nothing to lose and everything to gain, anyone diagnosed with non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia after significant exposure to Roundup should consider speaking with a Roundup cancer attorney about filing a claim.
Remember that proper compensation for your present and future medical care, as well as for your pain and suffering, is your right. You are not asking for charity. You deserve to be adequately compensated for your loss.
And thank you for reading our blog!