The efficacy of a product is certainly an important aspect and is usually a crucial selling point for consumers, but it is far from the only factor to consider before putting a product on the market. If a product is effective but also highly toxic, the risks might far outweigh any possible benefits to Ohio consumers. The bio-tech company Monsanto currently faces multiple allegations that at least one of its products contains toxic materials that led to serious injuries.
Most people are familiar with Roundup, the weed killer manufactured by Monsanto. The herbicide is a popular choice for farms, and many farm workers spend a significant amount of time using it to spray crops. Now, two workers in the agriculture industry say their cancer diagnoses are the direct result of their constant exposure to Roundup.
One of the workers was first diagnosed with bone cancer in 1995, and he cites the years he spent traversing multiple states and farms in order to spray the fields with Roundup. Another worker points to her experience at a horticultural company, where she also used Roundup, as evidence for her 2012 leukemia diagnosis. Both of their suits claim that Roundup is a dangerous and defective product. Prior to the lawsuits, the World Health Organization — WHO — released some research that indicated Roundup has a likely carcinogenic effect on humans.
Monsanto has denied the claims that Roundup caused these two cases of cancer and further rejected the WHO’s conclusions that its herbicide is unsafe to humans. However, a company simply disagreeing that its product is unsafe is not sufficient evidence to forestall any type of products liability claim against it. When consumers in Ohio are negatively affected by toxic materials in a dangerous product, they have the right to pursue claims for financial accountability from the manufacturer responsible for related damages, which is typically accomplished through the successful litigation of a products liability lawsuit.
Source: rt.com, “US workers sue Monsanto over ‘cancer-causing’ weed-killer“, Sept. 30, 2015
