Court revisits brain-injury case against Bayer’s Monsanto unit

Bayer AG is facing further legal challenges after Washington State’s Supreme Court announced it would review a case concerning Monsanto, a company Bayer acquired in 2018.

The case involves allegations that chemicals produced by Monsanto, specifically polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), caused brain injuries to three teachers at the Sky Valley Education Center in Washington.

The focus of the case is on whether Monsanto’s PCBs, which were banned in the U.S. in 1979 due to health risks, played a role in the illnesses of these educators. Previously, a jury had awarded $185 million in damages to the teachers, but an appeals court overturned this decision in May 2024, citing flaws in the trial.

Despite this, Washington’s highest court has now agreed to take another look at the case, although it denied a request for an expedited review.

According to Bloomberg, Bayer says that it remains confident that the outcome will not change, noting that the appeals court identified three errors in the original trial, including concerns over the scientific validity of the plaintiffs’ claims regarding PCB exposure. The company is also arguing that another state’s law was incorrectly applied in the case and is challenging the use of punitive damages in this litigation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a health statement about PCB, which, in part, reads: “Because they don’t burn easily and are good insulating materials, PCBs were used widely as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment. The manufacture of PCBs stopped in the United States in August 1977 because there was evidence that PCBs build up in the environment and may cause harmful effects. Consumer products that may contain PCBs include old fluorescent lighting fixtures, electrical devices or appliances containing PCB capacitors made before PCB use was stopped, old microscope oil, and old hydraulic oil.”

This PCB case is part of a broader set of legal issues Bayer inherited when it purchased Monsanto. Beyond the ongoing PCB-related lawsuits, the company is still grappling with thousands of cases related to Roundup, an herbicide created and produced by Monsanto.

Many of these cases allege that Roundup causes cancer, and Bayer has already settled a significant number of them for $10.9 billion. However, the company still faces approximately 57,000 unresolved cases, and its total exposure to litigation could exceed the $16 billion it has set aside.

While Bayer’s shares dropped following news of the Washington Supreme Court’s review, the company said it remains focused on defending its position in ongoing legal battles.

»Related: Legacies: Biotech booms with former Monsanto CTO Robb Fraley