Tran To Nga, who was born in what was then French Indochina, accuses Monsanto and 13 other chemical companies of causing her and others severe injuries by selling the defoliant Agent Orange to the US military.
The 82-year-old tried to sue the chemical companies in 2021, but was rejected by the court, which cited the companies' legal immunity as they were working for the US government. The appeals court is now citing the same reasoning.
We will continue to show the world that justice is on our side, comments Tran To Nga to the newspaper L'Humanite.
Vietnam's government calls the court's rejection "very regrettable", according to the country's foreign ministry.
The use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War had catastrophic effects on people and nature. Four million people in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were exposed, and Vietnam blames the chemical for severe birth defects in 150,000 children.
So far, only military veterans from the US, Australia, and Korea have received compensation for injuries caused by the toxic chemical.
