Bayer has no plans to settle Roundup-related cancer lawsuits

When Bayer AG acquired the company Monsanto, they didn’t suspect that that acquisition would result in substantial financial liability. On the contrary, Monsanto, as a company that holds patents to many popular agricultural compounds and proprietary seed genetics, probably seemed like a very smart investment for the corporate powerhouse.

However, with several highly publicized plaintiff victories in lawsuits against Monsanto in the last few years, Bayer AG has lost roughly 30 billion USD in company value since acquiring the chemical and agricultural company. They also have substantial liability for future legal action, including thousands of pending lawsuits around the country.

What were once sporadic and limited lawsuits related to the potentially carcinogenic weed killer known as Roundup with its active ingredient of glyphosate are now an inundation of lawsuits, with thousands of large claims pending in domestic courts alone. Although Bayer is still in the process of appealing those losses, they’ve made it clear that they don’t intend to settle with plaintiffs anytime soon.

Investors are looking at the liability for Roundup

Monsanto never accepted that its proprietary herbicide could pose a risk to the public. Both Monsanto and its new owner Bayer have remained staunchly opposed to labeling its products as potentially carcinogenic. They have gone so far as to take legal action against the state of California for requiring labels on any weed killer that contains glyphosate.

Interestingly enough, it is that exact lack of acknowledgment that has strengthened the plaintiffs’ cases against the company in recent months. Several lawsuits have made it clear that individuals would have taken greater precautions or would have refused to use the chemical had they known about its risks. By refusing to acknowledge the risks, the company may have increased its liability instead of limiting it.

With so many pending lawsuits potentially going to courts in the next few years, Bayer AG could wind up paying out hundreds of billions of dollars in those individual settlements. Currently, there are more than forty thousand individuals taking legal action against the company because of cancer that they allege relates to their use of Roundup in the past.

Roundup cancer claims are relatively complex legal cases

Given that the research related to glyphosate is relatively new, there can be a lot of evidence gathering and work required to bring a successful claim against Monsanto and the company that currently owns them, Bayer.

Still, with the right legal representation and careful documentation of your medical condition, it is possible to hold corporate entities responsible for the damage they cause individuals with their questionable practices. Those who have become sickened through exposure to Roundup or who have lost loved ones to cancer caused by the compound could have a successful claim against the company.