MONROE, Wash. — Chemical company Monsanto — owned by Bayer — was found liable by a jury for harm caused to some students and parents at a Monroe school by their ‘forever chemical.’
According to Trial Lawyers for Justice, the polychlorinated biphenyls – or PCBs – in the school’s fluorescent light ballasts and caulk caused more than 200 people serious neurological problems.
The trial is reportedly the tenth involving former students and parents at the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe.
Trial Lawyers for Justice says Monsanto has been hit with more than $1.6 billion in verdicts over three years. Monsanto tells KIRO 7 that all of these verdicts are under post-trial motions or appeals.
Monsanto sent KIRO 7 the following statement regarding the jury’s decision:
“The Company is pleased that the jury found in favor of the Company for nearly 75% of the plaintiffs in this case (11 of 15). However, we disagree with the verdict in favor of four plaintiffs and will pursue post-trial motions, and an appeal, if necessary, to get the adverse verdict overturned or reduce the excessive damages awarded. The objective evidence in this case, including blood, air and other tests, demonstrated that PCB levels were low or non-existent and could not be the cause of the injuries alleged in the case.
This case also may have to be retried because the trial court refused to stay it pending the outcome of the state Supreme Court case in Erickson, the first of the SVEC cases to go to trial, which raises many cross-cutting issues. Monsanto looks forward to arguing before the state Supreme Court in Erickson next month that the award of any punitive damages was error reflecting a mashup of Washington liability law and Missouri punitive damages law that fails to comply with the U.S. Constitution, state law or choice-of-law principles. Plaintiffs’ lawyers sought to evade the clear directive of the Washington Product Liability Act (WPLA), which bars punitive damages, by cherry-picking Missouri law to govern punitive damages while bringing their underlying claims under the WPLA. Punitive damages account for 80% of the overall damage awards in the SVEC litigation to date. The Supreme Court also should affirm the decisions by the appellate court on the statute of repose defense and the inadmissibility of most of the opinions of plaintiff’s exposure expert, Kevin Coghlan.”
PCBs are referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their durability and are classified as “carcinogenic to humans.”
Research compiled by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry shows that PCBs can lead to neurobehavioral and developmental deficits, disrupted fertility, fibrosis, necrosis, neurological deficiencies, cardiovascular risks, and adverse dermal effects.
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