Ark. Jury Rules for Chicken Feed Company in Suit over Leukemia Cause

An Arkansas jury took only 21 minutes on Sept. 25 to rule in favor of a company that was sued for selling a chicken feed that plaintiffs alleged contributed to a Prairie Grove boy’s leukemia seven years ago.

Ten of the 12 jurors sided with Alpharma and Alpharma Animal Health in refusing to give Michael “Blu” Green and his parents actual damages of nearly a million dollars and refusing to award Green damages ranging from $4 million to $9 million for pain and suffering. Only nine jurors had to agree on a verdict.

The Greens brought the lawsuit in 2002 after Green was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in 1999. They alleged that chicken litter spread near their home contained traces of arsenic that originated with Alpharma’s feed and caused the boy to develop leukemia in 1999.

Green survived the cancer and is now a senior at the University of Arkansas. Neither he, his family, nor their lawyers would comment on the jury decision.

Alpharma attorneys also declined comment.

The Greens maintained that Roxarsone in the feed passes through the birds and degrades into a harmful form of arsenic in the litter, which is then spread on fields as fertilizer. Wind then carries the dust into homes and schools in the community.

Their attorney argued Monday that the companies knew the product was dangerous but told no one.

Alpharma attorneys said Roxarsone, an additive used to control parasites, has been used for more than 50 years all over the country without a problem. They argued that arsenic doesn’t cause leukemia, and said Green could have been exposed to arsenic in chicken litter before Alpharma bought the rights to Roxarsone and 3-Nitro in 1991. They also said Green couldn’t prove he was exposed to a specific dose of arsenic.