Monsanto Ordered to Pay $857 Million in Lawsuit

Monsanto has been ordered to pay $857 million to a group of seven former students and parent volunteers at a Washington state school. The plaintiffs claimed that the company's chemicals sickened them.

The judgment was reported by various news outlets, including Bloomberg, AFP, and Reuters. This comes as Monsanto faces numerous lawsuits over its weed-killing chemical Roundup. Just last month, the company was ordered to pay $332 million to a man who said Roundup caused his cancer.

In this particular case, the former students and parent volunteers alleged that exposure to Monsanto's polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from fluorescent light fixtures led to a range of health problems, including brain damage and autoimmune disorders. PCBs were commonly used in caulking, light fixtures, and other building materials from the 1950s to 1970s, but were banned in 1979 due to their toxicity.

Henry Jones, an attorney for the plaintiffs, stated, "No one who heard this evidence would ever change places with any of these people in exchange for all the money the jury awarded."

A jury has ruled that a firm must pay a total of $73 million compensation and $784 million in punitive damages to five former students and two parent volunteers at the Sky Valley Education Center, which is located north of Seattle. The verdict was announced by the jury, according to AFP.

Monsanto, the firm in question, has stated that it disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal in order to reduce the constitutionally excessive damages awarded. A spokesperson from Monsanto said in an emailed statement, "The objective evidence in this case, including blood, air and other tests, demonstrates that plaintiffs were not exposed to unsafe levels of PCBs, and PCBs could not have caused their alleged injuries." Monsanto, which is now owned by German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, also mentioned that it recently won a personal injury trial in Illinois with similar claims.

However, Monsanto is currently facing additional lawsuits over PCBs, including one from the state of Vermont. The state alleges that the chemical company knew its PCB formulations were toxic and could cause harm in humans.

Vermont's Burlington School District has also sued Monsanto over PCBs. The district claims that the company should pay for the construction of a new high school after it had to abandon the town's high school due to PCB levels that exceeded the state's limits.