The herbicide Roundup can be harmful to animals. This is primarily due to exposure of the active ingredient in Roundup called glyphosate.
Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide to kill weeds and grass leaves. If an animal comes into contact with wet leaves or grass that has been sprayed with glyphosate, they could become ill, showing symptoms like upset stomach, lack of appetite, and sleepiness, according to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC). These risks to animals were not mentioned as warnings on the Roundup label or website.
Glyphosate is now on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of probable carcinogens to humans. Because of this, its manufacturer Monsanto (owned by German conglomerate Bayer AG since June 2018) has been the subject of many individual and class action lawsuits over the past two years.
These cases continue to grow in number, even though the companies contend that glyphosate poses no risk, as long as it is safely used. However, the odds of judges and juries agreeing with Bayer and Monsanto continue to grow dimmer month by month.
Litigation over Roundup
Bayer initially lost three Roundup cancer trials in California in 2019. Juries in those cases originally awarded $2.3 billion in damages to four plaintiffs. That number was later sharply reduced to around $190 million.
By April 2020, the number of lawsuits alleging that Roundup caused their cancers rose to 52,500, according to the New York Times. More plaintiffs were expected in trials moving forward.
The cases allege that Monsanto and Bayer misled consumers in its ads and labels, and did not alert consumers about health risks when using Roundup. This is a form of negligence.
Roundup and Animals
All of the major health agencies have been involved in determining the probability that roundup and glyphosate are probable carcinogens. The WHO wrote in 2015 that it is probably a carcinogen. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken the opposite position, saying it posed no clear health risk to humans.
Other independent studies have shown evidence that glyphosate and Roundup could be cancer-causing.
Animals could suffer side effects from being in contact with the weed killer. Animals should not be allowed to go anywhere near a Roundup spraying zone. Coming into contact with a wet application of Roundup can cause stomach pains, drowsiness, and similar ill feelings. Plus, animals may track a wet application of Roundup to other parts of the yard or house, causing the weed killer to be in unintended areas.
According to a toxicity study from the EPA, pregnant rats and rabbits exposed to high doses of glyphosate gained weight, had nasal discharge, or died. Other studies showed kidney effects, digestive effects, and problems gaining weight in animals.
Seeking Counsel
It is very difficult news for a family when a loved one receives a cancer diagnosis. Depending on the extent of the cancer, the person could be very limited in their ability to work, and the costs of managing the cancer could become astronomical.
If your cancer may have been a result of being exposed to Roundup and glyphosate, you may be able to participate in a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer to make a claim for expenses related to your illness, including but not limited to:
- Hospital costs
- Transportation costs
- Treatment costs
- Prescription drug costs
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of earnings from work
- Loss of future earnings
- Funeral and burial costs in wrongful death cases
Roundup can be harmful to animals, but lawsuits against the manufacturer have shown that the herbicide might be harmful to humans as well. If you are suffering from cancer, and you believe it might be due to glyphosate exposure from Roundup, we might be able to help you win a settlement.
Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today to see how we can help. Our team of lawyers will explain how to help you in pursuing options for this type of litigation.
When we learn more about your situation, do not be worried about making any payments to our team upfront. We work with you on a contingency basis, which means that our fees will be paid as a percentage of the funds our team is able to get you in a class action or individual lawsuit.
As these cases go, when there is a financial award for damages announced, the money is usually split evenly among the various plaintiffs. Our team then collects its fee for providing you with legal representation throughout the class-action lawsuit. Call a member of our team today at (800) 794-0444.