Two Maui families with children born with rare illnesses are suing Monsanto and its parent company Bayer. They claim the company knowingly sprayed harmful chemicals that caused their conditions.
Dana Fulton sat looking at photos of herself after one of the surgeries she had as a baby. She was born with esophageal atresia/tracheoesophageal fistula. Today, Fulton is 28-years-old and needs a tracheostomy tube to breath.
Seventeen-year-old Max Coleman had hydronephrosis, or the swelling of his kidneys. He also has severe asthma and ADHD according to his mother Lory Marques.
Both the Coleman and Fulton families lived fewer than 500 yards from Monsanto’s Mokulele Field in Kihei, Maui.
They filed a lawsuit Thursday, claiming the hazardous chemicals Monsanto sprayed on the fields caused their illnesses. They want Monsanto to take responsibility.
Ilana Waxman is an attorney representing them in the case. Waxman said the chemicals were highly toxic and were sprayed at a rate 17 times higher than most fields.
“Monsanto in spraying these large amounts of restricted use pesticide on these fields was very well aware that there was a residential neighborhood immediately downwind, very well aware that the trade winds would carry these pesticides into the neighborhood,” Waxman said.
