Lawsuit Alleges Roundup Caused Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

According to allegations raised in product liability lawsuit recently filed against Monsanto by an Illinois man, use of the company’s popular weedkiller, Roundup, caused diffuse large-B-Cell non-Hodkin’s Lymphoma. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Charles Cushman in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on September 16, indicating that Monsanto knew or should have known about the risk that Roundup may increase the risk of cancer, yet withheld warnings from consumers.

Cushman indicates that he began using Roundup for both agricultural and residential use in the mid 1980s, spraying the popular herbicide on a regular basis to kill weeds. As a result of the exposure to Roundup, and the active ingredient glyphosate, Cushman indicates that he developed diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma in 2008.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), consisting of 30% of all newly diagnosed NHL cases every year. It causes rapidly growing and spreading tumors that can cause swelling in the neck, armpits and groin, as well as fevers, night sweats, and weight loss. Treatment of DLBCL usually involves chemotherapy and an antibody that targets the tumors cells. If properly diagnosed and treated, the overall five-year survival rate is about 58%.

Cushman’s case raises allegations similar to a large number of other Roundup cancer lawsuits filed in recent months by farmer, professional landscapers and others regularly and consistently exposed to the popular glyphosate-based herbicide.

The Roundup litigation has emerged since the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen last year, sparking a world-wide concerns about the widespread use of Roundup and Monsanto’s failure to warn about the importance of limiting exposure.

Cushman’s claim also points to evidence that other ingredients in Roundup could be a health risk as well, including the surfactant polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA). The lawsuit indicates that Monsanto failed to properly test the herbicide and that it’s continued insistence that Roundup is safe puts others in danger.

“Rather than performing appropriate tests, Defendant relied upon flawed industry-supported studies designed to protect Defendant’s economic interest rather than Plaintiff and the consuming public,” the lawsuit states. “Despite its knowledge that Roundup was considerably more dangerous than glyphosate alone, Defendant continued to promote Roundup as safe.”

As Roundup diffuse large b-cell lymphoma lawyers continue to review and file claims for individuals throughout the United States, it is widely expected that several thousand similar complaints will brought against Monsanto in courts nationwide in the coming months and years.

Cushman presents claims of defective design, failure to warn, negligence, and breach of implied warranties, seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, which are designed to punish Monsanto for recklessly disregarding the safety and health of consumers.