Man who claimed weedkiller caused cancer awarded $2.1bn by US jury

A man who claimed a weedkiller caused his cancer has been awarded about $2.1bn (£1.6bn) in compensation and damages by a US jury.

The verdict is one of the largest legal settlements issued against Bayer’s Roundup product. Bayer has said it will appeal the verdict.

The world’s largest maker of seeds and pesticides has paid about $10bn (£7.7bn) to settle disputed claims that one of its active ingredients, glyphosate, causes cancer. The company insists the chemical is safe if used properly and denies it causes cancer.

The Georgia verdict includes $65m (£50m) in compensatory damages and $2bn (£1.5bn) in punitive damages, according to a statement by the plaintiff’s law firms seen by the Reuters news agency.

Roundup is used widely in the UK and Europe to control weeds although some consumer versions no longer contain glyphosate. Other Roundup products, designed for contractors and landscapers, often still include glyphosate.

More than 60,000 further cases are pending for Bayer, which has set aside $5.9bn (£4.5bn) in legal provisions.

The German pharmaceutical and biotechnology group acquired Roundup as part of its $63bn (£48bn) takeover of US agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018.

Bayer said in a statement it disagreed with the jury’s verdict, saying it conflicted with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide.

“We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned and the excessive and unconstitutional damage awards eliminated or reduced,” it said.

It added that damages in cases that have reached final judgements have been reduced by 90% overall compared with the original jury awards.

The question of whether glyphosate is carcinogenic is disputed within the scientific community.

But environmental groups argue the chemical is harmful to other wildlife, kills beneficial organisms in the soil and some weeds have become resistant to it.

The EU Commission has decided to renew glyphosate’s licence for use in the EU to December 2033. The UK is also expected to extend the current licence when it expires in December 2025.

This month Bayer said it welcomed a new law about to be passed in Georgia to better protect the maker of crop protection chemicals against glyphosate litigation.

The company told Reuters that the law has yet to be signed by Georgia’s governor and that Bayer is hoping that more US states would follow Georgia’s example.