Monsanto and a Florida-based landscaping company recently came under fire in a billion-dollar lawsuit filed by a Palm Beach County mother battling cancer. According to the suit, Melanie Lynn LaFond, a mother to three children, is currently battling Stage-4 esophageal cancer. She argues in her suit that she became ill from being “routinely exposed to the herbicide Roundup at her job without being warned of its potentially harmful effects.”Together with her attorney, Willie Gary, LaFond is suing Monsanto over allegations of “negligent design and marketing.” Additionally, Gary argues the landscaping company, “For Ever Green Landscaping, failed to warn and equip Lafond with proper gear while using Roundup.”

Bayer Cross; image courtesy of H005 via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org

What happened, though? Well, between 2016 and 2018, LaFond claims she had to “wear a tank as a backpack and spray Roundup on plants” in her job. Attorney Larry Stauss said:“So it wasn’t just a homeowner who is doing this 20 minutes or something like that, she was doing it regularly day in and day out over the course of two years so her level of exposure is substantial.”Gary added, “She’s trying to raise three boys though not easy and the landscaping company gave her a job so she took it and now she’s in a situation where she has less than six months to live.”Gary also noted that he reached out to Bayer, the company that owns Monsanto. In response, Bayer sent over a statement claiming its Roundup and other herbicide products are “safe when used as directed.” It also noted that “Bayer stands behind these products and will vigorously defend them.”The entire statement from Bayer is as follows:“There is an extensive body of research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including more than 800 rigorous studies submitted to EPA, European and other regulators in connection with the registration process, that confirms that these products are safe when used as directed. Notably, the largest and most recent epidemiologic study – the 2018 independent National Cancer Institute-supported long-term study that followed over 50,000 pesticide applicators for more than 20 years and was published after the IARC monograph – found no association between glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer. Additionally, EPA’s 2017 post-IARC cancer risk assessment examined more than 100 studies the agency considered relevant and concluded that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,’ its most favorable rating. Bayer stands behind these products and will vigorously defend them.”At the moment, For Ever Green has not responded to requests for comment.

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Mother with cancer files billion-dollar lawsuitLake Worth woman files billion dollar lawsuit against Bayer