April 13, 2011, 05:00:00AM. By Charles Benson

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Stuttgart, AR: A jury in Stuttgart, Arkansas, recently handed down a ruling that a unit of Germay's Bayer AG, which has been scrutinized in the past for Avelox side effects, must pay more than $136 million over a genetically modified rice strain.

Reuters reports that the judgment includes $125 million in punitive damages to Riceland Foods, which is a farmers cooperative.

The company said that it was "disappointed" with the jury's decision and that it was currently in the process of considering its legal options. The firm claims the amount of punitive damages is greater than what is permitted by state legislation, meaning they will be limited to a statutory cap of $1 million.

The award is just the latest to go against Bayer, which has been found negligent in the past for allowing the strain of modified rice to contaminate supplies in the US, causing importers to stop purchases, according to the news source.

In the past, Bayer has also been scrutinized for side effects related to its infection treatment Avelox, which has been linked to tendon rupture, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
 

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