A Georgia jury has awarded nearly $2.1 billion in punitive damages in a lawsuit over the popular weed killer Roundup.
John Barnes sued Monsanto in 2021 claiming that the weed killer caused his cancer.
He said there should have been more warnings about “defective and unreasonably dangerous products.”
Barnes was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He asked for $2.1 billion.
The jury awarded the man $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages.
It was one of the largest verdicts handed down in a Roundup case so far.
Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, has been sued more than 177,000 times over Roundup and has $16 billion earmarked to settle cases.
It plans to appeal Barnes' case.
Bayer released a statement after the verdict writing, that it “conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide.” Bayer continues “to stand fully behind the safety” the weed killer.
Some studies have linked one of the key components of Roundup — glyphosate — with cancer.
The U.S. Environmental Agency said it is not likely to be carcinogenic in humans when used correctly.
The World Health Organization said it is “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015.
The largest lawsuit against Bayer and Monsanto had a jury award damages totaling $2.25 billion.
Overall juries have found in favor of Bayer in 17 of about 24 trials. About 114,000 were settled or did not proceed.
Many of the large verdicts against Bayer have been cut on appeal, citing constitutional limits on punitive damages.
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