Monsanto Ordered To Pay $289mln To Man Who Claims He Got Cancer From Weed Killer

(RTTNews) - A jury has ordered Monsanto Co. to pay $289.2 million in a lawsuit over whether exposure to two of its powerful weed killers caused cancer. Meanwhile, Monsanto said it would appeal it.

The jury verdict, in San Francisco Superior Court, is the latest setback for Monsanto, now part of Bayer AG , as its flagship weed killer Roundup comes under increased scrutiny following the 2015 determination from the World Health Organization that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicides, is probably carcinogenic.

On Friday, the jury unanimously found that the company's Ranger Pro and Roundup products presented a "substantial danger" to consumers, and that Monsanto knew or should have known of potential risks and failed to warn consumers like Dewayne "Lee" Johnson.

Johnson had worked as a groundskeeper for the Benicia Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay-area and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The jury awarded him $39.2 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages.