justice scales in a court room

It has been a busy stretch for some of the biggest dangerous product lawsuits in the United States. From a pivotal verdict in the social media addiction litigation to an upcoming Supreme Court hearing that could affect tens of thousands of weed killer lawsuits, here are some of the biggest updates for April 2026.

Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

There was a major update last month for the thousands of lawsuits claiming that popular social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube are linked to addiction and mental health issues.

Meta and Google lost a landmark trial in this litigation, with a Los Angeles jury ordering the companies to pay a combined $6 million to a woman who began using their social media platforms at a young age.

She said that she went on to develop serious mental health issues along with body dysmorphia.

The outcome of that trial is significant. It presented a roadmap for how companies behind social media platforms with billions of users could be held accountable for addiction and mental health claims. TikTok and Snap were also originally set to be part of the trial, but agreed to confidential settlements before it got underway.

More trials are anticipated in the coming months.

Hair Relaxer Lawsuits

As of this month, there are more than 11,000 active hair relaxer lawsuit cases. But the massive litigation has also been relatively slow-moving. These cases, which claim certain popular hair relaxers are tied to cancer, were grouped together in federal court more than three years ago and have been trudging along since.

But these lawsuits hit a major milestone last week when the judge overseeing the MDL selected 10 cases to serve as bellwether trials. Those picks, however, were made in a relatively unusual way.

The original plan was for both sides to have a say in which cases would move forward. But the judge essentially took over the process after identifying numerous issues with some of the potential options submitted by each side.

This included cases where the plaintiffs had memory loss and mental health issues, as well as cases where the plaintiff had a separate cancer diagnosis that could serve as a distraction for the jury.

The judge went ahead and scrapped the selection process and picked the 10 bellwether cases herself. Those cases will now be prepared for trial.

Roundup Lawsuits

April is a pivotal month for Roundup lawsuits. These cases, which claim the popular weed killer is tied to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, are set to receive a review from the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court will weigh in on the issue of federal preemption. Agricultural giant Bayer is claiming that these lawsuits are preempted, or overruled, by federal law because the Environmental Protection Agency has not required a cancer warning on the Roundup label.

Lower courts have been divided on this issue. Bayer has repeatedly held that a positive ruling could resolve much of the litigation in its favor. There are currently tens of thousands of Roundup lawsuits.

In the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s decision is a proposed Roundup settlement worth $7.25 billion that could resolve both current and future cases. The settlement, which was proposed by Bayer, has received pushback from some law firms and has not yet been approved by a judge.

It’s unclear exactly how the court’s decision could impact the settlement. Arguments are scheduled for April 27.