A woman from Dover, New Hampshire has filed a lawsuit against Bayer claiming that Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller caused her cancer.
Ann Marie Hallisey’s lawsuit accuses Monsanto of negligence, failure to warn, defective design, breach of implied warranties, breach of express warrant, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and negligent misrepresentation and/or fraud.
Hallisey claims to have used Roundup regularly from 1985 through 1991, and again between 1999 and 2012.
Three similar cases in California have gone to trial over the last year, which claimed a link between Roundup and cancer. The jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in these cases.
Three other trials were recently postponed, as parties were seeking settlement talks.
Bayer has denied any link between glyphosate and cancer. The U.S. EPA has also stated that Roundup is safe for use. In April, the agency said that glyphosate posed “no risks of concern” for people exposed to the product when used in yards, farms, along roadsides or as residue on crops.
News of the latest lawsuit comes as Bayer announced that it expects to see a significant increase in U.S. glyphosate cases.
“With the substantial increase in plaintiff advertising this year, we expect to see a significant surge in the number of plaintiff filings over the third quarter,” the company announced in a statement.
In July, the company said the number of U.S. plaintiffs had risen to 18,400. An update is due on October 30 along with the company’s quarterly earnings.
Analysts suggest that the number of cases could rise to more than 40,000. Several lawsuits have already been delayed as Ken Feinberg, mediator, attempts to negotiate a settlement.
Liam Condon, head of Bayer’s Crop Science unit, suggested a likely increase in lawsuits during a newspaper interview earlier in the month, citing the prospect of settlements and an increased effort to recruit new plaintiffs through media campaigns.
