Roundup Settlement Could Pay Claimants up to $200,000

Bayer AG announced a $2 billion settlement to resolved future lawsuits over allegations that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The settlement, announced on February 3, still needs to be approved by the U.S. District judge presiding over the Roundup litigation.

If approved, the Roundup settlement will cover current and future claims brought forward by people who were exposed to the popular weedkiller and a later diagnosed with cancer, like non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Over 100,000 product liability claims have been filed against Bayer in the federal court system over Roundup injuries.

Since Bayer bought Monsanto Company, creators of Roundup weedkiller, in 2018, the pharmaceutical company has battled thousands upon thousands of claims that exposure to Roundup weed killer can cause cancer. According to these claims, glyphosate, a chemical found in Roundup weed killer, is a probable human carcinogen and can non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and other cancers.

Given the similar questions of fact and law raised in these claims, all Roundup injury lawsuits in the federal courts were centralized as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL). U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria oversees the Roundup MDL in the United States District Court of Northern California.

Under the Roundup settlement plan, Bayer would provide $2 billion over a four-year period to provide compensation and pay for the costs of outreach and diagnostic aid. Individual claimants who qualify could be eligible for up to $200,000 in compensation.

The plan also includes the founding of a scientific advisory panel over the safety of glyphosate-based products, but their findings would not be legally binding. Additionally, parties can agree to extend the settlement period, and if a claimant is not satisfied with the class action settlement, they can take their case to court to see if it might get a better result.

Even with the Roundup settlement, Bayer continues to reject claims that glyphosate and Roundup causes cancer, saying decades of studies have shown otherwise.