Although Bayer’s involvement in the case is restricted, it is likely to trouble the German firm, which bought Monsanto for over $60 billion in June this year. Following the success of this trial, other similar lawsuits could pile up and this would not bode well for Bayer, which had to struggle to get the Monsanto acquisition approved in the first place.
On Friday, a judge in California ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million to Dewayne Johnson, a groundsman at a school in Benicia, who is suffering from terminal cancer that was said to be caused by the regular use of the company’s Ranger Pro product.
Several products sold across the US contain glyphosate, which also received renewed approvals for its use in the EU despite opposition. Some agencies have declared that the chemical could be carcinogenic while others have maintained that it is safe.