Jury Ruled Monsanto Liable In Case Of Man Dying Of Cancer After Using Weedkiller

By Heather Callaghan | Natural Blaze | August 10, 2013

It is with great relief that we announce the following: Monsanto corporation – now a part of Bayer – lost the trial of the century against a man dying of cancer, his cancer alleged to be caused by Roundup herbicide. The corporation was found by a jury to be responsible for all claims and ordered to pay $250 million dollars in punitive damages to school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson, who’s life and limb are stricken with deadly lymphoma after years of using Roundup Pro and Ranger Pro.

After weeks of arguments and court deliberations, a San Francisco jury sided with Johnson on Aug 8. As ABC7 reports:

Forty-six-year-old Dewayne Lee Johnson filed the civil suit against the pesticide manufacturer.

Johnson’s attorneys say he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after spraying Roundup weed killer for two and a half years.

Monsanto released a statement regarding Friday’s verdict:

“We are sympathetic to Mr. Johnson and his family. Today’s decision does not change the fact that more than 800 scientific studies and reviews – and conclusions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and regulatory authorities around the world – support the fact that glyphosate does not cause cancer, and did not cause Mr. Johnson’s cancer. We will appeal this decision and continue to vigorously defend this product, which has a 40-year history of safe use and continues to be a vital, effective, and safe tool for farmers and others.” 

The jury had different ideas, however.

They felt that the herbicides did in fact cause his Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and that Monsanto failed to warn him of the risk.

Moreover, the jury found that Monsanto “acted with malice, oppression and fraud.”

This trial is the first of its kind and was allowed to proceed speedily because of Mr. Johnson’s terminal condition.

Our hearts are with Dewayne Johnson and his family during this time of resolution. We certainly hope that the comparatively small compensation is some kind of token of justice, although it can never make up for his suffering.

We also hope that groundskeepers and horticulturalists everywhere will take heed of this story and realize the risks that they unwittingly take.


This article (Jury Ruled Monsanto Liable in Case of Man Dying of Cancer After Using Weedkiller) was created by and appeared first at Natural Blaze.

Heather Callaghan is an Energy Healer, consultant, independent researcher/writer, speaker and food & health freedom advocate. She is the Editor and co-founder of NaturalBlaze as well as a certified Self-Referencing IITM Practitioner. She has written over 1,200 articles and wants readers to empower themselves to take back their health!


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