(May 23, 2018) Monsanto hid a Roundup cancer link, says dying plaintiff DeWayne Johnson, 46. Mr. Johnson has terminal cancer which he says was caused by Monsanto’s Roundup. A former groundskeeper, Mr. Johnson will become the first person to face the chemical giant in a U.S. court over an alleged Roundup-cancer link. Mr. Johnson’s case against Monsanto will open in San Francisco County Superior Court beginning June 18, 2018.
Groundskeeper used Roundup for years
A father of three, Mr. Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 42. His lawsuit states that he had worked for a California school district, “where his responsibilities included direct application of Roundup and RangerPro, another Monsanto glyphosate product, to school properties.”
Monsanto hid risks, polluted science – attorney
Mr. Johnson’s s attorney told The Guardian: “Monsanto does not want the truth about Roundup and cancer to become public. (We) look forward to exposing how Monsanto hid the risk of cancer and polluted the science.”
Related: Roundup non-Hodgkin’s Lyphoma Lawsuit
Monsanto hid Roundup Cancer Link, says dying Plaintiff
Monsanto tried to keep experts hired by Mr. Johnson from testifying. Monsanto also tried to keep his legal team from using certain research. Some of Monsanto’s efforts to quash evidence were granted, according to the order signed by San Francisco Superior Court judge Curtin Karnow last week. The judge did, however, rule that Mr. Johnson’s lawyers could use various peer-reviewed studies and some expert evidence for the trial.
Some of the judge’s judgments may have been influenced by a California appeals court which last week turned back a Monsanto challenge to keep the state of California from including glyphosate – the main active ingredient Monsanto declares in Roundup – on its list of probable carcinogens. Following the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) designation of glyphosate as a probable carcinogen, the state followed its legal mandate and added glyphosate to its own list of probable carcinogens. Monsanto attempted to have the state stopped from listing glyphosate as a carcinogen, but failed in the California courts.
Thus far, however, US and EU watchdogs have not banned glyphosate and Roundup from widespread agricultural use. Glyphosate use has, however, been banned or restricted in large parts of Europe because of its alleged links to many health problems, ranging from birth defects and kidney failure to coeliac disease, colitis and autism.
France, the Netherlands and Sweden have all said they would not support an assessment by the European food safety authority (Efsa) that glyphosate is harmless.
Monsanto denies all
Monsanto says Mr. Johnson’s cancer was not caused by exposure to Monsanto products. Monsanto has rejected all allegations and scientific findings regarding the carcinogenicity of glyphosate. Monsanto has effectively kept government regulators looking at glyphosate when it is never used alone, and Roundup has been shown to be many times more toxic than glypohoste alone.
Roundup Lawsuits
Approximately 4,000 plaintiffs have filed Roundup lawsuits similar to Mr. Johnson’s, claiming that they or their relatives were given cancer – usually non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – from exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup.
Related
- Monsanto Lawsuit | Lawyer
- Roundup Cancer Lawsuit
- California Court rejects Monsanto Challenge to Cancer Warning
by Matthews & Associates
