A jury in the US state of Georgia has ordered Bayer to pay about $2,1 billion to a person who claims the herbicide Roundup caused her cancer, the plaintiff's legal teams said.
The verdict, which Bayer has announced it will appeal, is one of the largest ever handed down in Roundup-related cases and represents the latest blow to the company, one of the world's largest producers of seeds and pesticides.
Bayer has so far paid out about $10 billion in settlements in lawsuits alleging that Roundup, which is based on the herbicide glyphosate, causes cancer. More than 60.000 additional lawsuits are pending, and the company has spent $5,9 billion in legal fees.
The Georgia verdict includes $65 million in compensatory damages and $XNUMX billion in punitive damages, the law firms said in a statement to Reuters.
Bayer said in a statement that it disagrees with the jury's verdict and that it contradicts the overwhelming majority of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory authorities and their scientific assessments around the world.
"We believe we have a strong case for an appeal to overturn this verdict and to have the excessive and unconstitutional punitive damages awarded lifted or reduced," the company said.
Earlier this month, Bayer told U.S. lawmakers it could halt sales of Roundup unless legal protections against product liability lawsuits are strengthened, a financial analyst and a source close to the matter told Reuters.
Bonus video:
