Roundup NHL Lawsuit Filed By Former Drive-In Movie Worker Diagnosed with Cancer

According to allegations raised in a product liability lawsuit filed against Monsanto, side effects of Roundup exposure caused a former drive-in movie worker to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), after working around the popular weed killer for years. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Philip Klein in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on April 1, claiming that Monsanto failed to warn about the Roundup NHL risk.

Roundup is one of the most widely used weedkillers and herbicides in the United States, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate. However, last year the World Health Organization (WHO)’s International Agency for Research on Cancer determined that glyphosate probably causes cancer in humans, raising serious questions about the safety of Roundup.

Klein indicates that he was exposed to Roundup from 1974 to 1980. The early exposures came from typical summer use of the weedkiller, but from 1977 through 1980 he worked at two outdoor drive-in movie theaters, where he was exposed Roundup, which was sprayed to control weed growth on the grounds. Following years of Roundup exposure, Klein was diagnosed with NHL in April 2014.

“During the entire time that Mr. Klein was exposed to Roundup, he did not know that exposure to Roundup was injurious to his health or the health of others,” the lawsuit states. “As a result, he did not take any precautions to prevent his being exposed to Roundup or to prevent others from being exposed to Roundup either.”

The lawsuit indicates that Klein only learned that Roundup exposure was linked to his NHL after the WHO report issued in March 2015.

The case joins a growing number of Roundup cancer lawsuits filed in recent months by individuals throughout the U.S., each raising similar allegations that the weedkiller caused forms of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among farm workers, landscapers, gardeners, city or county road crews and other individuals who regularly and consistently used the product.

As Roundup injury lawyers continue to review and file cases for individuals throughout the U.S. who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or other forms of cancer, it is ultimately expected that Monsanto will face several thousand complaints in courts throughout the U.S.