Roundup Multiple Myeloma Lawsuit Filed Over Exposure to Weedkiller

According to allegations raised in a lawsuit filed against Monsanto, exposure to the weedkiller Roundup caused an Illinois man to develop multiple myeloma. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Glen McNelly in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on May 15, indicating that Monsanto knew about risks associated with their glyphosate-based herbicide for years, yet failed to warn consumers and actively tried to deceive the public about the safety of exposure to Roundup.

McNelly indicates that he developed multiple myeloma as a direct result of exposure to the weedkiller both during the course of his employment, and while using on his own lawn and garden.

At all times relevant to the lawsuit, McNelly maintains that he used the weedkiller in an intended and reasonably foreseeable manner, and was unaware of the link between Roundup and cancer.

“Based on early studies that glyphosate could cause cancer in laboratory animals, the EPA originally classified glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group C) in 1985,” McNelly’s complaint notes. “After pressure from Monsanto, including contrary studies it provided to the EPA, the EPA changed its classification to evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans (Group E) in 1991. In so classifying glyphosate, however, the EPA made clear that the designation did not mean the chemical does not cause cancer.”

In March 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) warned for the first time that glyphosate contained in Roundup is likely a cancer-causing agent.

The IARC Working Group provided a thorough review of the numerous studies and data relating to glyphosate exposure in humans, concluding that the cancers most associated with the weedkiller include non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other haematopoietic cancers, such as lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell
lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, according to the complaint.

The case filed by McNelly joins a growing number of Roundup lawsuits filed throughout the United States, typically involving individuals diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma following regular and consistent exposure to Roundup as a farmer or agricultural worker. The plaintiffs allege that the manufacturer recklessly promoted Roundup and pushed greater and greater use of the chemical, without disclosing the potential health risks.

Given the similar questions of fact and law raised in complaints filed throughout the federal court system, McNelly’s lawsuit will be transferred to a federal MDL, or multidistrict litigation, which has been established before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in the Northern District of California.

Judge Chhabri is presiding over coordinated pretrial proceedings, and is expected to address the issue of general causation later this year.

Following the MDL proceedings, including potential bellwether trials, if Monsanto fails to reach Roundup settlements or another resolution for the litigation, hundreds of cases may eventually be remanded back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for individual trial dates.

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