Bayer ordered to pay $175 million in latest Roundup cancer trial
(Reuters) — A Philadelphia jury Friday found Bayer AG liable in a case brought by a retired restaurant owner who claimed his cancer was due to exposure to the company's Roundup weed killer and ordered Bayer to pay him $175 million in damages, the man's lawyers said.
The verdict for retired restaurant owner Ernest Caranci includes $25 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages.
A Bayer spokesperson said in a statement that the company disagreed with the verdict and was “confident we can get this unfounded verdict overturned and the excessive damage awards reduced through our appeal.”
Mr. Caranci had alleged that he developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma as a result of using Roundup in his garden for years.
Last week, the company was hit with a $1.25 million verdict in a separate Roundup trial. Before that, it had won nine consecutive trials over similar claims.
Roundup-related lawsuits have dogged Bayer since it acquired the brand as part of its $63 billion purchase of agricultural seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto Co. in 2018.
The German conglomerate has said that decades of studies have shown Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, are safe for human use.
