International News

Monsanto pays up big
A California jury has ordered Monsanto to pay more than USD 2bn (AUD 2.88bn) to a couple who contracted cancer after using its weedkiller, marking the third and largest verdict against the company over Roundup.

A jury in Oakland ruled Monday that Monsanto, now owned by the German pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, was liable for the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cancer of Alva and Alberta Pilliod. The jury ordered the company to pay USD1bn (AUD 1.44) in damages to each of them, and more than USD 55m (AUD 79m) total in compensatory damages. The victory follows two consecutive trial wins for families taking on Monsanto over Roundup, the world's most widely used weedkiller. Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper with terminal cancer, won a USD 289m (AUD 415.7m) victory in state court last year, and Edwin Hardeman, who sprayed Roundup on his properties, was awarded USD 80m (AUD 115m) in the first federal trial this year.

The latest verdict is the largest by far and will increase pressure on Bayer, which has suffered share price drops in the wake of the verdicts and is now facing similar lawsuits from thousands of other cancer patients, survivors and families of those who have died. Read more: The Guardian

Share Tweet

RELATED

DRILLING & BLASTING COMPANY FINED FOR DISASTROUS TRENCH BLAST
Van Dyke Pty Ltd, a drilling and blasting company working on a development site in Wollert has been fined $6,000 and received no conviction under s.45 of the Dangerous Goods Act, after...
Read More
STEVEDORE REINSTATED - ALCOHOL & OTHER DRUGS POLICY FOUND INADEQUATE
The FWC has found an employer’s alcohol and other drugs (AOD) policy to be inadequate and ordered reinstatement and continuity of service for a Port Botany stevedore unfairly dismissed. DP World Sydney...
Read More
BERRYBANK WINDTOWER POTENTIALLY STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
The Berrybank wind project has been temporarily shut down following the collapse of a turbine following severe storms on Monday night that included high wind speeds and widespread lightening. The current working...
Read More