SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
California Widow Sues Monsanto Alleging Roundup Caused Her Husband's Cancer
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Monsanto Co. by the widow of a prominent Cambria, California farmer alleging that Monsanto had known for years that exposure to glyphosate--the main ingredient in the agribusiness giant's flagship weedkiller Roundup--could cause cancer and other serious illnesses or injuries.
Mar 10, 2016
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Monsanto Co. by the widow of a prominent Cambria, California farmer alleging that Monsanto had known for years that exposure to glyphosate--the main ingredient in the agribusiness giant's flagship weedkiller Roundup--could cause cancer and other serious illnesses or injuries.
The lawsuit, which seeks wrongful death and punitive damages, was filed today in Los Angeles federal court by attorneys Michael Baum, Cynthia Garber and Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of Kennedy & Madonna on behalf of Teri McCall.
Teri McCall claims Roundup caused her husband of 40-years, Anthony Jackson "Jack" McCall, to develop terminal cancer after he used the herbicide on his 20-acre fruit and vegetable farm for nearly 30 years.
According to a press release from the law firms, Jack McCall was admitted to a hospital in September 2015 to treat swollen lymph nodes in his neck. He found out that same day that the swelling was caused by anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare and aggressive version of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Glyphosate, which is the most widely applied pesticide worldwide, was declared as "probably carcinogenic to humans" last March by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The organization also observed that non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other haematopoietic cancers are the cancers most associated with glyphosate exposure.
Following the IARC's decision, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued plans in September to add glyphosate to the state's list of chemicals known to cause cancer, making it the first state in the country to do so.
After his cancer diagnosis, Jack McCall stopped using Roundup on his farm after learning of the product's link to cancer. Three months after his diagnosis, Jack suffered a severe stroke on Christmas Eve 2015 due to complications with his cancer treatment. He died Dec. 26, 2015 at the age of 69.
Monsanto, however, has long maintained the safety of their widely popular product, which generated $4.8 billion in 2015 revenue. The biotech firm has also vehemently denied glyphosate's link to cancer, demanding a retraction of the IARC's report and also filing suit to prevent California from listing the chemical as a known carcinogen.
Still, the embattled company is facing a slew of criticism from environmentalists as well as mounting class-action lawsuits over the controversial chemical.
"Glyphosate is the product of both modern chemistry and a profoundly corrupt corporate culture," Kennedy told EcoWatch. "It is sad for our country and our people that such a powerful economic leader can only be trusted to put private greed before public health."
McCall's complaint alleges that Monsanto failed to adequately warn farmers that Roundup causes cancer; that the company designed a dangerous and defective product; that the company committed gross negligence in the creation and promotion of Roundup; and that it defrauded millions of farmers, including Jack McCall, about the safety of the herbicide.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 EcoWatch
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Monsanto Co. by the widow of a prominent Cambria, California farmer alleging that Monsanto had known for years that exposure to glyphosate--the main ingredient in the agribusiness giant's flagship weedkiller Roundup--could cause cancer and other serious illnesses or injuries.
The lawsuit, which seeks wrongful death and punitive damages, was filed today in Los Angeles federal court by attorneys Michael Baum, Cynthia Garber and Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of Kennedy & Madonna on behalf of Teri McCall.
Teri McCall claims Roundup caused her husband of 40-years, Anthony Jackson "Jack" McCall, to develop terminal cancer after he used the herbicide on his 20-acre fruit and vegetable farm for nearly 30 years.
According to a press release from the law firms, Jack McCall was admitted to a hospital in September 2015 to treat swollen lymph nodes in his neck. He found out that same day that the swelling was caused by anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare and aggressive version of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Glyphosate, which is the most widely applied pesticide worldwide, was declared as "probably carcinogenic to humans" last March by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The organization also observed that non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other haematopoietic cancers are the cancers most associated with glyphosate exposure.
Following the IARC's decision, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued plans in September to add glyphosate to the state's list of chemicals known to cause cancer, making it the first state in the country to do so.
After his cancer diagnosis, Jack McCall stopped using Roundup on his farm after learning of the product's link to cancer. Three months after his diagnosis, Jack suffered a severe stroke on Christmas Eve 2015 due to complications with his cancer treatment. He died Dec. 26, 2015 at the age of 69.
Monsanto, however, has long maintained the safety of their widely popular product, which generated $4.8 billion in 2015 revenue. The biotech firm has also vehemently denied glyphosate's link to cancer, demanding a retraction of the IARC's report and also filing suit to prevent California from listing the chemical as a known carcinogen.
Still, the embattled company is facing a slew of criticism from environmentalists as well as mounting class-action lawsuits over the controversial chemical.
"Glyphosate is the product of both modern chemistry and a profoundly corrupt corporate culture," Kennedy told EcoWatch. "It is sad for our country and our people that such a powerful economic leader can only be trusted to put private greed before public health."
McCall's complaint alleges that Monsanto failed to adequately warn farmers that Roundup causes cancer; that the company designed a dangerous and defective product; that the company committed gross negligence in the creation and promotion of Roundup; and that it defrauded millions of farmers, including Jack McCall, about the safety of the herbicide.
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Monsanto Co. by the widow of a prominent Cambria, California farmer alleging that Monsanto had known for years that exposure to glyphosate--the main ingredient in the agribusiness giant's flagship weedkiller Roundup--could cause cancer and other serious illnesses or injuries.
The lawsuit, which seeks wrongful death and punitive damages, was filed today in Los Angeles federal court by attorneys Michael Baum, Cynthia Garber and Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of Kennedy & Madonna on behalf of Teri McCall.
Teri McCall claims Roundup caused her husband of 40-years, Anthony Jackson "Jack" McCall, to develop terminal cancer after he used the herbicide on his 20-acre fruit and vegetable farm for nearly 30 years.
According to a press release from the law firms, Jack McCall was admitted to a hospital in September 2015 to treat swollen lymph nodes in his neck. He found out that same day that the swelling was caused by anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare and aggressive version of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Glyphosate, which is the most widely applied pesticide worldwide, was declared as "probably carcinogenic to humans" last March by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The organization also observed that non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other haematopoietic cancers are the cancers most associated with glyphosate exposure.
Following the IARC's decision, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued plans in September to add glyphosate to the state's list of chemicals known to cause cancer, making it the first state in the country to do so.
After his cancer diagnosis, Jack McCall stopped using Roundup on his farm after learning of the product's link to cancer. Three months after his diagnosis, Jack suffered a severe stroke on Christmas Eve 2015 due to complications with his cancer treatment. He died Dec. 26, 2015 at the age of 69.
Monsanto, however, has long maintained the safety of their widely popular product, which generated $4.8 billion in 2015 revenue. The biotech firm has also vehemently denied glyphosate's link to cancer, demanding a retraction of the IARC's report and also filing suit to prevent California from listing the chemical as a known carcinogen.
Still, the embattled company is facing a slew of criticism from environmentalists as well as mounting class-action lawsuits over the controversial chemical.
"Glyphosate is the product of both modern chemistry and a profoundly corrupt corporate culture," Kennedy told EcoWatch. "It is sad for our country and our people that such a powerful economic leader can only be trusted to put private greed before public health."
McCall's complaint alleges that Monsanto failed to adequately warn farmers that Roundup causes cancer; that the company designed a dangerous and defective product; that the company committed gross negligence in the creation and promotion of Roundup; and that it defrauded millions of farmers, including Jack McCall, about the safety of the herbicide.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.