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Was Your Cancer Caused by Roundup? TAKE QUIZ

Central Valley and Tulare County Roundup Cancer Lawsuit Attorneys

When one of the most popular herbicides ever produced is found to be a cancer-causing agent or factor, adversely affected persons particularly those who live in proximity to a major agricultural center need to have their day in court.

If you live in Tulare County, where weed-killer Roundup was widely applied on crops, fields, gardens, and schoolyards, and believe you have been exposed to dangerous levels of the herbicide, The Driscoll Firm, LLC wants to help you get the money damages and the justice you deserve.

If you have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma, or another form of cancer, we can explain your legal rights and options. Call us at 800-900-7704 or reach out to us online to schedule a free consultation to discuss the extent of your Roundup exposure, and where you go from here in terms of recovering financial compensation.

If we take your case, we will not charge you a retainer or other fees. We only get paid if we either obtain a settlement for you or when we win your case in court.

Roundup is a popular herbicide because it is effective at killing weeds while not killing cash crops and other desirable plants. Monsanto, the agrochemical company that developed and marketed the product, insisted the product was safe for humans. An estimated four billion-plus tons of Roundup have been applied all over the globe.

The Central Valley of California has long been one of the top agricultural and dairy producing regions of the world. The region is deeply tied into agriculture and, therefore, exposed to possibly cancer-causing levels of Roundup. At one time, Tulare County, at the southern end of the Valley, was the most productive agricultural county in the U.S. as measured by revenue. Since 1968, it is also the site of the World Ag Expo.

Complex product liability and personal injury cases are The Driscoll Firm, LLC’s strength. We bring cases against large corporations who think they can market harmful products and deal with the consequences later after they have made huge profits. These kinds of cases require patience and perseverance, but we keep fighting because we know it is the right thing to do for our clients. Call us today at 800-900-7704 or contact us online to set up a free, confidential case review.

Roundup Exposure in Tulare County

Tulare County has a population of 442,000. Dairy production and manufacturing are the largest sources of revenue in the county. Ruiz Foods, maker of frozen meals for Mexican food lovers, and Land O’Lakes are among the major manufacturers. Raising dairy cows, and growing oranges, grapes and other produce, however, are at the core of the economy in Tulare County. Roundup use in these industries was common.

Incidence rates information from the National Cancer Institute indicates that the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis rate in Tulare County is slightly below the state average and holding stable. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnoses are falling in California and the U.S. in general.

A study published in 2015 by the Center for Biological Diversity indicated the following:

“…in 2013, more than half of the glyphosate used in California (54 percent) was applied in the state’s eight most impoverished counties.

“The counties that had the highest percentage of residents living below the federal poverty line in 2013 are mostly located in the southern part of the Central Valley. They are Tulare, Fresno, Merced, Del Norte, Madera, Lake, Imperial, and Kern

“Additionally, 53 percent of the residents in these eight counties identified as Hispanic or Latino, compared to 38 percent in the state as a whole.” [

The eight poorest counties in California represent 19 percent of the state’s land area but experienced 54 percent of the Roundup applied to that land.

In recent years, three major Roundup civil lawsuits in California resulted in favorable outcomes for the plaintiffs. Essentially, the courts determined that Monsanto (which is now owned by Bayer, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world) knew that the pesticide was linked to cancer and did not warn their customs or even put warning labels on packaging. A jury awarded Alva and Alberta Pilliod of Livermore, California  $2 billion in damages this past spring for having contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from Roundup exposure. Monsanto is appealing the verdict. In August 2018, a jury awarded non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma victim Edwin Hardeman $80 million in damages. Hardeman used Roundup on his farm for more than 20 years.

How Does Roundup Exposure Cause Cancer?

Roundup’s popularity is due, in part, because Monsanto also sold Roundup-resistant seeds for many crops (Monsanto is one of the largest seed companies in the world). Farmers could plant Roundup-resistant crops, and then extensively apply the herbicide without damaging their harvest; indeed, they saw increased yields due to lack of weeds.

Most importantly, Monsanto insisted Roundup was not harmful to humans or livestock. There were no warnings on their packaging. As a result, agricultural workers and consumers applied the herbicide without wearing protective gear. As far as anyone outside Monsanto knew, there was no downside risk to using Roundup.

But in 2015, the International Agency for Research (IAR), a branch of the U.N. World Health Organization, decided to test the assumption that Roundup and several other pesticides were safe. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, inhibits an enzyme involved in the synthesis of key amino acids in targeted weeds which kills them. The IAR study found that glyphosate also inhibited enzymes in the human gut, which impacted amino acid synthesis and the growth of cancer cells in humans. The IAR study indicated that glyphosate was a “probable human carcinogen.”

Once research effectively challenged Monsanto’s blanket claim that glyphosate was not harmful, the action moved to civil courts. This meant Monsanto would have to comply with a discovery process aimed at answering several key questions: What the company knew about glyphosate toxicity, when did they know it, and what did they do about it?

Eventually, documentation surfaced in the company’s records that Monsanto developed plans and customer communications to bolster their claims that Roundup was harmless, even when they knew it was not. The plaintiffs’ lawyers ascertained that the company required their workers to wear complete protective gear even while maintaining there was no danger from Roundup exposure.

The issue in the California Roundup lawsuits revolved around the refusal of Monsanto to provide customers with adequate warning labeling. The plaintiffs in the Hardeman and Pilliod cases did not have to prove conclusively Roundup caused their cancer. Instead, they only had to prove they never received sufficient warning about the herbicide’s potential to cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to protect themselves from exposure to dangerous levels of the product.

The state of California decided in 2015, shortly after the IAR report was published, to require Monsanto and other manufacturers and marketers of glyphosate-based herbicides to include a warning about exposure on all packaging.

Damages You Could Potentially Collect in a Roundup Lawsuit

The civil litigation environment in California is trending toward finding Monsanto liable for selling a product that is harmful to its customers, thereby violating the duty of care the company owes those customers. If you were exposed to glyphosate herbicides and have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, or other diseases, you could bring a claim against Monsanto for the following damages:

  • Medical expenses, current, and future
  • Lost wages from work
  • Loss of future earnings
  • Travel expenses to and from healthcare treatments
  • Pain and suffering

You may also be eligible to receive punitive damages if the company is found to have acted recklessly, without regard to the well being of their customers. Contact The Driscoll Firm, LLC now at 800-900-7704 or online to schedule an appointment for a free consultation about your legal options with one of our experienced Roundup cancer lawsuit attorneys.

How We Can Help

If you were exposed to Roundup and subsequently received a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s or another form of cancer, you are in a vulnerable state, perhaps in severe pain and exhausted by chemotherapy and other treatments. You need an advocate you can trust to obtain justice and who will seek the money damages you need to rebuild your life.

This is exactly the kind of case that made our lawyers at The Driscoll Firm, LLC pursue a career law in the first place: companies with deep pockets convinced they can get away with marketing defective or dangerous products because no one will put the time energy into beating them in court or at the settlement table. Call us today at 800-900-7704 or contact us online to set up a no-obligation consultation.