A Louisiana jury has awarded $3.3 million (£1.58m) to six Dole Fresh Fruit Co. banana workers in Nicaragua who claimed they were left sterile by a pesticide used on their plantation.
The workers’ lawsuit accused Dole and Standard Fruit Co., now part of Dole, of negligence and fraudulent concealment while using the pesticide DBCP in the 1970s to destroy microscopic worms on banana plant roots.
Dow Chemical Co. and Amvac Chemical Corp., who manufactured the product, were also accused in the suit, of withholding the information that the product could leave workers sterile.
Amvac reached a £300,000 settlement before the trial started, according to spokeswoman Kelly Kozuma.
The case, which lawyers began arguing in July, was significant because it raised the issue of whether multinational firms should be held accountable in the country where they are based, or where they employ workers.
The six employees received awards ranging from $311, 200 to $834,000 each, and were among 12 workers suing Dole and Dow. Jurors found the two companies’ use of the chemical substantially harmed workers.
The jurors also decided that California-based Dole would be held responsible for the bulk of the payments.
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