Shannon Law Group July 2019

Shannon Law Group July 2019

312-578-9501 | www.shannonlawgroup.com JULY 2019

THE CASE AGAINST ROUNDUP

We filed our first lawsuit against Monsanto, a St. Louis based agrochemical company. Many of you have likely heard about Monsanto and its Roundup product as a result of recent jury trial verdicts in California. Monsanto has extensively produced and advertised the use of its glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, since its introduction in 1974. Over the years, Roundup became the most widely sprayed herbicide in the world. By design, Roundup is a non-selective herbicide that kills most of the plants sprayed. As Monsanto’s patent for Roundup was nearing its expiration, Monsanto developed genetically modified seeds (known as Roundup Ready seeds) that were resistant to the glyphosate herbicide. This made life easier for farmers because they could now spray the herbicide throughout the season without fear of destroying their crops. As a result, Monsanto sales for both Roundup and Roundup Ready seeds boomed. By 2005, 87% of all soybean fields in the United States were planted with Roundup Ready seeds. Simply put, Roundup and Roundup Ready crops were a golden goose for Monsanto. Despite the huge profits, there was trouble on the horizon for Monsanto. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organization, stated that glyphosate was “probably carcinogenic to humans.” In particular, the IARC concluded that the cancers most associated with glyphosate products are non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In 2019, the first group of Roundup-related NHL cases has gone to jury trials across the county. Overwhelmingly, those jurors have found that Roundup can and did cause NHL in those plaintiffs. German-based Bayer, one of the largest pharmaceutical and chemical companies in the world, bought Monsanto in 2018. Since the Roundup verdicts, Bayer has continued Monsanto’s fight to discredit the science supporting

the connection between glyphosate products and NHL. If you’re interested in the topic or know someone you believe may have been affected by Roundup or other herbicidal products, do not hesitate to call us with any questions.

– Pat Cummings

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There is no urban legend in the world of modern video games as well-documented as the so-called “Madden Curse.” The curse revolves around the highly sought-after cover spot of the popular NFL video game “Madden NFL,” formerly known as “John Madden Football.” While the games date back to 1988, the curse is said to originate with the 1999 version. Garrison Hearst, a popular running back at the time, broke his ankle shortly after being featured on the cover of the 1999 edition. This was the first in a long line of injuries and personal issues that resulted in the rumor gaining traction. Soon, the idea that the game’s seemingly innocent cover could have devastating effects on a player’s career was widespread. Once a substantial honor in the world of football, the Madden cover spot has become one of the sport’s most feared superstitions for fans. The players, however, seem to find the correlation more amusing than scary. Most of the athletes in contention for the spot still consider it to be a great honor, choosing to

brush off the rumors as coincidence. Despite the ambivalence of many players, there does seem to be a correlation between the cover and player issues. Of the 22 players who have been featured on the cover, 16 of them have suffered from significant issues in the season that followed. While the causes varied,

with severe injuries, contract disputes, and personal issues all afflicting different players, something about the spotlight appears to have disturbed the powers that be. In fact, sometimes these issues occur shortly after the game is released in stores. Whatever the true cause, the curse seems to have taken a dip in recent years. Only one of the last five players has been affected, a stat that bodes well for this year’s star: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The real answer probably lies somewhere between fact and fiction. The increased pressure of national attention is bound to make players tense up every once in a while, and in a game as physical as football, any distraction can end in disaster.

What work have we been doing lately? Here’s a glimpse. • We filed our first case against Monsanto for injuries our client sustained from years of exposure to its carcinogenic weed killer, Roundup. • On the eve of trial, we reached a life changing settlement in Winnebago County for our clients in a medical negligence case with the help of Frank Morrissey and Wise Morrissey, LLC. (There’s more to come on this result next month!) FIRM UPDATE

• In the last three months, we have filed three serious injury cases against commercial trucking companies in Cook County.

• We have recovered over $15 million for our clients in the last year.

Once again, we thank you for referring folks to us who need our services. Our team has been hitting on all cylinders. I’d also like to thank all of our clients for placing trust and confidence in us. It is an honor to represent you.

–Joe Shannon

• We won a suit against USAA for denying our client a right to arbitration under his underinsured motorist coverage.

• Our client was awarded a six-figure settlement in the U.S. Federal Court of Claims in compensation for a flu vaccine injury.

• We tried and won a pregnancy discrimination case in Cook County.

• In July, we will be presenting a trucking case before a Cook County jury. Our client was permanently injured while unloading cargo from a truck trailer in 2016 because the truck driver had failed to chock his wheels. (We will have more updates for you in our next edition!)

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YOU ARE SERIOUSLY INJURED DURING AN UBER OR LYFT RIDE. NOW WHAT?

Nearly everyone has downloaded the Uber or Lyft app or at the very least ridden with an Uber or Lyft driver since they came on the scene about 10 years ago. It’s inevitable that Uber and Lyft drivers will be involved in crashes. What happens when you are injured as another motorist or as a

passenger? Are Uber and Lyft required to provide liability coverage? These issues will be worked out in legislatives and the courts. What is clear is that Uber and Lyft have attempted to control their liability by making their own rules as to when they pay. Were you hurt when the app was on? Were you hurt when the app was off? Both try to apply different levels of liability. This dynamic reminds me of the old company-owned towns that liked to set their own limits of liability. Although these enormous companies do have clout, shouldn’t they follow the same rules as everyone else? In addition, determining potential liability for either Uber or Lyft depends heavily on >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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