Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY) (OTCPK:BAYZF) faced a staggering blow on Friday when a Pennsylvania jury ruled that the company must shell out $2.25B to a man who claimed to have developed cancer due to exposure to its Roundup weedkiller, as per the plaintiff’s legal team.
The jury at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas concluded that the plaintiff’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was a direct consequence of using Roundup for yard maintenance at his residence over several years.
This marks one of Bayer’s (OTCPK:BAYRY) (OTCPK:BAYZF) most substantial trial setbacks in the five-year Roundup litigation saga. The jury reportedly granted the plaintiff $250M in compensatory damages and a staggering $2B in punitive damages.
The company had secured victory in 10 out of the previous 16 Roundup trials, including the most recent case in December.