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.

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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.

34 Comments

  • ThereseJune 13, 2023 at 3:14 pm

    I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in September 2020. My MM does not behave like MM. My MM behaves more like lymphoma as my body produces tumors. Two surgeries (lamenectomy C3-T1 and eye orbit bone), radiation on neck, eye, ribs, and sternum due to multiple tumors. On third treatment plan. Was told by a intake person from a large law firm that because I was not exposed to roundup COMMER[Show More]I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in September 2020. My MM does not behave like MM. My MM behaves more like lymphoma as my body produces tumors. Two surgeries (lamenectomy C3-T1 and eye orbit bone), radiation on neck, eye, ribs, and sternum due to multiple tumors. On third treatment plan. Was told by a intake person from a large law firm that because I was not exposed to roundup COMMERCIALLY, that I had no case.

  • ShelliJanuary 18, 2022 at 12:05 am

    My mother passedaway in 2017 from Multiple Myeloma. She was an avid gardener and I have no doubt that Round up was the cause.

  • JamesNovember 29, 2021 at 1:57 pm

    I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in April 2021 and was told by my Oncologist it was probably caused by chemical exposure.

  • JamesNovember 17, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in April 2021 and was told by my doctor it was probably caused by chemical exposure. I have used Roundup most of my adult life.

  • LeighJuly 30, 2021 at 8:08 pm

    My 33year old daughter was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and was told she had possibly 3 years to live. We pondered what in the world may have caused this horrible cancer. It took me a while but I remember where she may have been extremely exposed to Roundup other than her own personal use in her yard and the exposure in my yard and her grandmother’s. I remembered when I was picking her up fro[Show More]My 33year old daughter was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and was told she had possibly 3 years to live. We pondered what in the world may have caused this horrible cancer. It took me a while but I remember where she may have been extremely exposed to Roundup other than her own personal use in her yard and the exposure in my yard and her grandmother’s. I remembered when I was picking her up from her school in the misfile of a farm field seeing the airial spraying after the crops had been harvested. I was amazed at the fields of crops with no weeds. My Daughter, Anne, passed away on January 25 , 2018 within three 3 years of diagnosis. She was about to become one of the first MM patients to go into clinical trials at Emory using CAR-T cell therapy. Please contact me through email. Would she qualify for this lawsuit, she left behind a 4 year old daughter and it would like to pursue this on her behave. Leigh, Anne’s mother and Olivia’s grandmother

  • RichardJune 26, 2021 at 6:49 pm

    Wife is currently being treated for multiple myeloma. We used Roundup for over 15 years in her garden. She sat on the ground most of that time. No cancer ever before on either of our families.

  • RitaApril 20, 2021 at 2:17 pm

    My husband and I lived on acreages surrounded by farm fields for 30 years. We had a huge garden too. We both used RoundUp many times over the years for weed control. I was diagnosed in 2017 with multiple myeloma. I went through 9 months of chemotherapy and a new drug called Daratumumab. I had a stem cell transplant in May of 2018. I am in remission but MM is not a curable cancer. My husband has P[Show More]My husband and I lived on acreages surrounded by farm fields for 30 years. We had a huge garden too. We both used RoundUp many times over the years for weed control. I was diagnosed in 2017 with multiple myeloma. I went through 9 months of chemotherapy and a new drug called Daratumumab. I had a stem cell transplant in May of 2018. I am in remission but MM is not a curable cancer. My husband has Parkinson’s. His neurologist says he thinks it is also related to RoundUp.

  • MichaelApril 1, 2021 at 9:13 pm

    My mother Donna Marie Sawchyn passed away from multiple myeloma Oct. 9 2020 and constantly used Roundup in her gardens in Rehoboth Beach Delaware at there vacation home at her significant others house in Northeast Philadelphia and also at her own home in Port Richmond Philadelphia I was just wondering if it could be possible connection she constantly brought it up that it could be a possibility he[Show More]My mother Donna Marie Sawchyn passed away from multiple myeloma Oct. 9 2020 and constantly used Roundup in her gardens in Rehoboth Beach Delaware at there vacation home at her significant others house in Northeast Philadelphia and also at her own home in Port Richmond Philadelphia I was just wondering if it could be possible connection she constantly brought it up that it could be a possibility her cancer was caused by using round up but never looked into it. Please help me n my family try n figure out what could have possibly given her this cancer that she suffered day and night untill some unchangeable circumstances to her way to early at the age of 64 a Mother of 3 a Grandmother of 7 and also a Great Grandmother of 2 which one she was cut short of ever having any physical contact with killed her before passing and will kill me for the rest of my life. Please help us try n figure out if round up it the cause or some kind of fluke or a possible new family hereditary illness that we can take more steps to give us a better chance to help one another no one else has ever had multiple myeloma or any style of cancer like this. Thank You Sawchyn family

  • IvanJanuary 19, 2021 at 12:00 am

    I use Roundup since 2001 around my home and then 2013 I was on my hands and knees replacing some of the sod on my lawn and 2 Days Later I broke out with hives all over my hands arms and legs 8 months later in 2014 I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma had to do six months of chemo and stem cell transplant

  • AprilSeptember 5, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    My husband has work for two companies that used Roundup about two or three years ago now he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma on May 20th 2020 he just turned 37 July 13th 2020

  • ChrisDecember 30, 2019 at 10:04 pm

    My father worked as a landscape architect for the state and applied roundup on jobsites and around his property for years. He was diagnosed with MM in 2012 after severe debilitating back pain. It took him for good in 2017 after a long battle, mutpliple bone fractrures and breaks and rounds of chemo. The more I read about roundup and glyphosate, the more disturbing all this is. Even more since glyp[Show More]My father worked as a landscape architect for the state and applied roundup on jobsites and around his property for years. He was diagnosed with MM in 2012 after severe debilitating back pain. It took him for good in 2017 after a long battle, mutpliple bone fractrures and breaks and rounds of chemo. The more I read about roundup and glyphosate, the more disturbing all this is. Even more since glyphosate is now being found in everything - drinking water, meat, fish, and even organic vegetables. There's a good reason glyphosate is banned in Europe and other countries around the world.

  • EstelleAugust 29, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    My mother had a green thumb and loved gardening. She used Round-up in her yard and volunteered to do the landscaping in her townhouse community for years. It was a great way for her to get exercise and do what she loved. She was diagnosed after a broken back in 2017 and died a year later in 2018 on complications from the cancer. This company has BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, and their products are stil[Show More]My mother had a green thumb and loved gardening. She used Round-up in her yard and volunteered to do the landscaping in her townhouse community for years. It was a great way for her to get exercise and do what she loved. She was diagnosed after a broken back in 2017 and died a year later in 2018 on complications from the cancer. This company has BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, and their products are still on the shelves of Home Depot TODAY! They need to pay, and they need to be stopped.

  • MichaelAugust 27, 2019 at 3:20 pm

    I had bad pain in my neck and went in to see six different doctors, five of them were in urgent care and one in emergency with Kaiser

  • TammyAugust 19, 2019 at 9:50 pm

    My husband worked in a green house and used Round Up at home regularly for the last 35 years. He was diagnosed with multi-myeloma in 2017. He has had chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant in the last couple years. Recently he was diagnosed with large granular leukemia as well so he is fighting two different cancers. He has also developed an auto-immune disorder as a result of the treatment for t[Show More]My husband worked in a green house and used Round Up at home regularly for the last 35 years. He was diagnosed with multi-myeloma in 2017. He has had chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant in the last couple years. Recently he was diagnosed with large granular leukemia as well so he is fighting two different cancers. He has also developed an auto-immune disorder as a result of the treatment for the myeloma. I hope this company is made to pay for the many lives they have affected.

  • CecilAugust 5, 2019 at 9:20 pm

    used the product round up, around my yard and garden area for years for weed control. , 9/16/2016 transplant for multiple myeloma.Doctors could not tell me how I contracted or where it came from, stage 3 when diagnosed.Still receiving Velcade injection 2 x a month.Under doctor care rest of my life.

  • JulianJuly 20, 2019 at 3:30 am

    I have used Roundup around home and with my work and in 2017 diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma should I file lawsuit and what lawyer do I use

  • LoriMay 17, 2019 at 1:03 pm

    I have been married to a lawncare professional for 39 years. I have been handling his clothing that has been soaked with weed killer daily all these years. I am 58 and after 7 broken vertebras since Jan 2019 I was dx with multiple myeloma and chemo has been started. Stem cell transplant possible in near future. Just wondering if there is a connection?

  • RichFebruary 15, 2019 at 1:46 am

    My son is 33 years old today; worked on a highway road crew for a state agency weeding beside the roads without any protective gear, gloves, respirator, etc. Did that 8 hours a day for more than a year. Was diagnosed with stage 3 myeloma after his spine fractured because of the lesions all throughout his body. Thank God, he still lives, but undergoes chemo every other week and has for the last [Show More]My son is 33 years old today; worked on a highway road crew for a state agency weeding beside the roads without any protective gear, gloves, respirator, etc. Did that 8 hours a day for more than a year. Was diagnosed with stage 3 myeloma after his spine fractured because of the lesions all throughout his body. Thank God, he still lives, but undergoes chemo every other week and has for the last two years. Still can't get his M-spike under control but remain hopeful that we'll have a few more years left together. It's very tough to think it may been caused by Roundup; sure wish we could know for sure.

  • CynthiaSeptember 5, 2018 at 6:56 pm

    Does anyone have or know of an attorney who is handling individuals with multiple myeloma in the Roundup lawsuits. If do you know the fee percentage.

  • PamAugust 15, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    My father used Roundup around his property to try to kill Kudzu. He would use gallons of it every Spring/Summer. He was diagnosed May 2017 with Multiple Myeloma and is undergoing chemotherapy. He feels too sick and too old and tired to "deal with a lawsuit", but I'm not..... I feel that it is my responsibility to pursue this for him, or at least try. I have so many questions.

  • SaraAugust 12, 2018 at 2:21 pm

    My mom used roundup in our yard she was an avid Gardner tended to over 100 rose bushes. She was diagnosed with MM in 1993 and passed in 2000.

  • GloriaNovember 15, 2017 at 12:45 am

    I used Roundup for 20+ years in our yard in NY and then for more than 25 years in Orlando on our acre. I always was watchful to follow instructions and now in 2015 after a horridly painful back i was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor which was part of MM. I am presently under a chemo regimen which will continue for the rest of my life.

  • CindyNovember 13, 2017 at 6:52 pm

    I regularly use round up for 18+ years around our acre yard full of landscape. I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 at the age of 44. I underwent two stem cell transplant's, a donor from my sister which has put me into remission. This makes me very angry.

  • MichelleNovember 2, 2017 at 9:24 pm

    My dad passed due to multiple myeloma, he regularly used roundup weedkillee around the garden, he lived gardening and always kept a lawn. We don't know why he got cancer he was a fit and ate healthy

  • DawnOctober 31, 2017 at 5:24 am

    My husband used roundup around our home. Was diagnosed with mm in 2010 after receiving 2 stemcell transplants he passed in 3013. He was 54 years old.

  • JaneOctober 28, 2017 at 1:01 pm

    My husband used roundup numerous times around our home and cabin. He was diagnosed with MM in January, 2012. After a stem cell transplant and numerous clinical trials and treatments, I lost him on 9/2/15.

  • ChrisOctober 23, 2017 at 7:38 pm

    As most homeowners do, my husband and I have used Round-up on our property for years! Additionally, how much have we been exposed to through fruits and vegetables that were sprayed before we purchased? He was diagnosed with MM in August of 2012. After careful watching by oncology for 4-1/2 years, he was treated with chemo. I almost lost him during treatment. Back to watching and hoping the benef[Show More]As most homeowners do, my husband and I have used Round-up on our property for years! Additionally, how much have we been exposed to through fruits and vegetables that were sprayed before we purchased? He was diagnosed with MM in August of 2012. After careful watching by oncology for 4-1/2 years, he was treated with chemo. I almost lost him during treatment. Back to watching and hoping the benefit he got from partial treatment is enough to give us some time before restarting treatment followed by Stem cell transplant.

  • GloriaOctober 16, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    I have used round up for years not realizing the potential danger to myself and my family. I was diagnosed two years ago with MM and have been taking chemo every since with a stem cell transplant some time in the future.

  • sherryOctober 12, 2017 at 4:05 pm

    grew up on a farm where crops were dusted and fertilizer , roundup, was used .Developed mm had to have stem cell therapy ,from what i have read the maker of round up knew of the side affects. By the grace of God still here today

  • AnthonySeptember 28, 2017 at 9:30 pm

    I am a contractor 54 years old used round up on jobs and around the house for a long time was diagnosed with multiple myeloma December 15 2016 went through 6 months of chemo then had stem cell transplant

  • BrentSeptember 25, 2017 at 5:29 pm

    I have used Round-Up for years around my personal property in Southern California and then again on my 2-acre parcel in Oregon. Weeds and blackberry bushes covered the property and I used it regularly not realizing the risks. I was diagnosed in May of this year with MM.

  • RonSeptember 4, 2017 at 1:32 am

    Worked around Roundup for 4-5 years when in my early 20's like it was harmless in the landscape industry. Now diagnosis with Multiple Myeloma 3 years ago and doing treatments to keep the cancer under control.

  • DanAugust 18, 2017 at 3:28 am

    In November of 2016 I started having unusual back pain. Increasing to the point of having compression fractures which eventually pointed to being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in December of 2016. I am 57 years old and was the primary applicator of Roundup herbicide on our family farms 400 to 500 acres of soybeans annualy for approximatly 20 years. Now after 8 months of low dose chemo therepy, [Show More]In November of 2016 I started having unusual back pain. Increasing to the point of having compression fractures which eventually pointed to being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in December of 2016. I am 57 years old and was the primary applicator of Roundup herbicide on our family farms 400 to 500 acres of soybeans annualy for approximatly 20 years. Now after 8 months of low dose chemo therepy, I am facing a stem cell transplant in September of this year. An extremely expensive procedure and also very hard on my body and immune system. Lets make Monsanto pay for their lies to us farmers

  • LawrenceJune 30, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    I had been having health issues for the last two years and finally around Dec 2016 was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. I am a contractor and have used the product Roundup on various jobs and use it frequently around our yard.

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