Jury finds Bayer’s product caused cancer
Jury decided that Bayer was at fault and that their product caused cancer. Roundup is a weedkiller that was found to cause cancer in the trial against Bayer this week. Actually there are many other trials in the courts regarding this product which caused Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Indeed, there are more than 11,000 farmers, gardeners, and landscapers that have sued Bayer for their product Roundup. Bayer states that the chemical glyphosate is not carcinogenic. Besides, the jury has decided differently and many more are likely to disagree with Bayer.
Moreover, the next phase of the trial is the moment where jurors will conclude whether or not there was misconduct and the amount of punitive damages that the company must pay. Bernstein Research indicated that this case will become a damage-limitation activity.
What is more, it seems Bayer attempted to push fault on the plaintiff for his health issues rather than prove scientifically that the product would be safe for ordinary use by any consumer.
Furthermore this verdict will attract more plaintiffs to sue the company. There are 6 more trials scheduled to begin this year.
Finally, Bayer must be aware of the risk to allocate $696.4 million for legal defense with respect to their weedkiller. That amount does not include potential liabilities, i.e. punitive damages for misconduct.