A recent court filing has brought to light serious allegations against a major corporation regarding the safety of one of its widely-used products. On September 12, 2024, Eugene A. Ledet, Jr., and Beverly Elizabeth Ledet filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana against Monsanto Company.
The plaintiffs, Eugene and Beverly Ledet, allege that Monsanto's herbicide Roundup®, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate, is defective and dangerous to human health. According to the complaint, Eugene Ledet was exposed to Roundup® beginning in approximately 1984 while residing in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. Over decades of use, he developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), which he attributes directly to his exposure to Roundup®. The plaintiffs claim that Monsanto failed to provide adequate warnings about the risks associated with glyphosate and accuse the company of negligence and wrongful conduct in connection with the design, development, manufacture, testing, packaging, promoting, marketing, advertising, distribution, labeling, and sale of Roundup®.
The complaint details how Monsanto allegedly knew about the potential dangers of glyphosate but continued to market it as safe. It references several studies and regulatory actions that have questioned or outright condemned glyphosate's safety profile. For instance, in March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a "probable human carcinogen," linking it specifically to NHL and other hematopoietic cancers. Despite this classification and other scientific evidence suggesting genotoxicity (DNA damage) caused by glyphosate formulations like Roundup®, Monsanto has consistently maintained that its product is safe for humans.
Eugene Ledet followed all safety precautions during his use of Roundup®, yet still developed NHL in 2024. His wife Beverly claims loss of consortium due to her husband's illness. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages for medical expenses incurred due to Eugene's illness as well as punitive damages aimed at penalizing Monsanto for its alleged misconduct.
The lawsuit highlights numerous instances where Monsanto purportedly engaged in deceptive practices. This includes ghostwriting scientific articles that downplayed risks associated with glyphosate and manipulating regulatory reviews by leveraging contacts within agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Additionally, internal documents revealed during litigation show that Monsanto was aware of higher-than-acceptable dermal absorption rates for glyphosate but chose not to disclose these findings or warn users adequately.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys from various law firms specializing in toxic torts and personal injury cases. The case has been assigned Case ID: 6:24-cv-01250 and will be presided over by judges from the Western District of Louisiana.