Monsanto Cleared in 7 of 8 Health Cases

A federal appeals court on Friday absolved Monsanto Co. of knowingly exposing seven workers to dioxin, but found the company guilty of risking one worker’s health with a second chemical.

The opinion by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Charleston jury’s 1985 findings in the case.

The jury rejected worker claims that Monsanto knew the dangers of dioxin when employees at its Nitro plant were exposed to the chemical in the 1950s and 1960s.

Jurors, however, awarded damages to John Hein after he proved that he contracted bladder cancer following exposure to para-amino-biphenyl, a now-discontinued rubber additive known as PAB.

“We are, of course, pleased the 4th Circuit affirmed the decision. We are disappointed in the Hein decision but have to review and see what it says,” said Charles Love, lawyer for the chemical company.

Stuart Calwell, lawyer for the plaintiffs, called the opinion “a very significant decision.” He said even a conservative victory with the PAB claim was a landmark in allowing injured workers to sue their employers.

West Virginia law requires workers pressing such injury suits to prove that their employers willfully and recklessly disregarded their safety.

The suit filed by seven Monsanto workers was a test case for some 140 similar suits filed by 169 Monsanto workers.