The global spotlight on glyphosate continues, following a third
successive US court case finding that the world's most popular
pesticide is carcinogenic. Despite unresolved uncertainties in the
scientific evidence, the case resulted in the highest damages award
to date, highlighting the burgeoning risk in this developing
litigation. Indeed, this may be the beginning of a new toxic tort
that has the potential to prompt a raft of claims globally and
should be watched closely by insurers and risk managers alike.
A California jury recently found that glyphosate (branded as
Roundup) was the likely cause of two married plaintiffs'
lymphoma and awarded the couple $55m in damages and a staggering
$1bn each in punitive damages.
