15-year legal battle for Farmer Paul Francois ended after he won a case for health problems caused by Bayer pesticide fumes
The Germany chemical and pharmaceutical group Bayer has been ordered to pay compensation to a French farmer for health problems caused due to fumes from a weedkiller.
According to a report in Reuters on Friday, December 9, the farmer named Paul Francois began his legal battle over 15 years ago and will recieve €11,135 as compensation by the company, as per the court ruling.
The report said, Francois argument in the case against Bayer stated that in 2004, he used the weedkiller Lasso. He further said that after using the product, the farmer suffered major neurological problems, including memory loss, fainting and headaches.
Meanwhile, Francois along with the anti-pesticide groups supporting his campaign are disappointed by the compensation amount agreed by the court. In a statement quoted in the article, the group said, “This type of ruling could discourage pesticide victims from claiming the responsibility of multinational firms”.
Bayer France also responded to the remarks about the compensation in the report and said, “the amount paid was less than 1% of what Francois had requested”. The report added, Francois had actually requested over a million euros in compensation.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check out the EuroNews247 website for all your up-to-date European news stories.