Products Liability
Our lawyers represent victims who want to file an AFFF lawsuit in all 50 states.
Chemicals in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) or “firefighting foam” may cause various types of cancer. If you were a firefighter or regularly exposed to AFFF and recently diagnosed with kidney, pancreatic, prostate, or testicular cancer, you may be able to file a lawsuit and get financial compensation.
The Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPMDL) has ordered the transfer of all federal lawsuits to the United States Federal Court in the District of South Carolina.
As of February 2024, there were over 3,300 AFFF plaintiffs in the lawsuit. So, a single judge will handle all AFFF firefighting foam cancer lawsuits in federal court. The hope is that this is the first step towards a global firefighting foam settlement.
Our AFFF lawyers are committed to providing you with the latest lawsuit updates. Our attorneys include the latest developments in the MDL AFFF class action, including the recent motion for summary judgment filed by the defendants.
April 1, 2024: The AFFF firefighting foam class action MDL witnessed a significant surge last month, with the addition of 568 new cases. This marks the highest monthly influx of new cases observed in over a year within this MDL. The total number of pending cases in the MDL now stands at 7,738.
March 26, 2024: Although we still don’t have a date set for when they will begin, the first round of bellwether trials in the AFFF MDL will feature liver cancer and thyroid cancer cases. Why? Because these are the 2 injuries that have the strongest causal link to AFFF exposure based on current research.
See our videos for more updates and information about these two types of cases and when we expect a settlement:
March 1, 2024: MDL Continues to Grow
The settlement deal resolving the water contamination cases last Summer has done little to slow down the AFFF firefighting foam MDL. Over the last 30 days, another 176 new cases were added to the MDL. Nearly 400 new cases have been added since the start of the year.
February 9, 2024: Getting Past the Water Contamination to Firefighting Foam
A South Carolina federal judge recently granted final approval to a landmark $1.18 billion settlement involving DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva, addressing the pollution of drinking water by PFAS.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel rejected the objections, stating the settlement met all necessary adequacy factors despite claims of its insufficiency compared to potential trial damages. This ruling follows a separate $12.5 billion agreement with 3M Co. over similar claims, highlighting ongoing efforts to tackle PFAS pollution.
This is good news because the it will help change the focus of the litigation to the AFFF fire fighting foam wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits.
February 2, 2024: 200 New Cases Added to MDL
In January, the AFFF firefighting foam class action MDL saw the addition of 279 new cases, elevating the total number of pending cases to 6,994. With nearly six months having passed since the global settlement deal was reached to address water contamination claims, most of these new cases are likely related to personal injury or cancer claims.
January 26, 2024: The Effort to Narrow the Litigation
In our January 2nd update below, we discussed an effort to remove some of these water contamination defendants from this MDL, which we welcome because it would allow greater focus on the AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits. These two pieces of litigation should have never been combined in the first place.
Of course, the defendants object. The defense outlines several reasons for denying the request. First, they mention that outcomes of ongoing settlements with other parties could affect the Sovereigns’ claims. Second, there are already two bellwether processes in progress and a third being developed, which should be prioritized since they involve many cases affecting many people. Third, the Sovereigns are involved in regulatory proceedings and are receiving federal funding for PFAS issues, which could change the nature of their claims. Fourth, the proposed bellwether process is deemed unfair and unworkable, as it selects only a few Sovereigns based on unclear criteria.
Could all of these problems be overcome with a little creative effort? Absolutely.
January 15, 2024: 88 Cases Added to MDL
The AFFF firefighting foam class action MDL added 88 new cases since the last monthly counting period. Notably, AFFF is the only mass tort MDL that experienced a substantial increase in new cases during the holiday season. The total number of pending cases in the MDL has now reached 6,715.
January 10, 2024: New AFFF Case
A new AFFF lawsuit was filed in Alabama this week. The plaintiff alleges, like every PFAS lawsuit, that he was exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including PFOS and PFOA. The plaintiff asserts that exposure to these substances led to the development of testicular cancer. This exposure is claimed to have occurred through contaminated drinking water and environmental pollution in the area where the plaintiff lived.
The plaintiff’s PFAS lawyers filed this lawsuit in state court. 3M has removed the case to federal court, which sends it to the AFFF MDL.
January 2, 2024: Breaking Off AFFF Personal Injury and Water Contamination Cases
The goofy thing about the AFFF class action lawsuit is that personal injury victims are in the same class as municipalities. It was a bad idea from the outset, and firefighting foam victims have paid the price because the toxic water cases have taken center stage.
The Sovereign Committee- a subcommittee of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee comprised of 28 U.S. States and Territories – wants to break off their litigation separately from everyone else. These defendants are willing to arrange their part so it does not clash too much with the existing parts for the telomer water provider and injury cases, especially in terms of gathering information or setting important legal deadlines.
The more we can isolate and focus on the AFFF firefighting foam cancer lawsuits, the better.
January 1, 2024: MDL Grows to 6,627 Cases
The AFFF class action MDL added another 227 over the last month. There are now over 6,600 total cases pending in the MDL. Since the water contamination cases were resolved in a global settlement earlier this year, most or all of the 227 new cases are presumably personal injury claims.
December 12, 2023: Motion to Formalize Bellwether Discovery Pool
Attorneys in the AFFF case have collectively filed a motion to formalize the Initial Personal Injury Bellwether Discovery Pool. The pool comprises twenty-five plaintiffs, including eight with claims of hypothyroidism/thyroid disease, eight alleging testicular cancer, four asserting cases of ulcerative colitis, and five individuals claiming kidney cancer.
This step is integral to the bellwether discovery process, which is designed to expedite the movement towards AFFF-related personal injury and wrongful death trials. Additionally, the involved parties have agreed to waive their Lexecon rights, as previously explained, but this waiver is specifically for the selected cases and applies only to the individual plaintiffs designated as Personal Injury Tier One Plaintiffs.
December 6, 2023: MDL Judge Takes Stock of Cancer Cases
Judge Gergel has mandated a series of tasks to be completed within 60 days to understand better where the firefighting foam lawsuits are going. These tasks include compiling a list of all plaintiff cases that claim illnesses other than the four already specified, submitting relevant peer-reviewed scientific studies about the association with other diseases, and organizing a ‘science day.’ A ‘science day’ is an event where experts come to court to discuss and debate the scientific evidence regarding the claimed connections between various diseases and exposure to AFFF-contaminated water. None of the evidence presented in a science day is binding. But it gives the court a comprehensive understanding of the scientific perspectives on the issue.
December 5, 2023: Bellwether Schedule for Cancer Cases
The AFFF class action MDL judge issued yet another significant case management order this week (CMO #26B). The new order sets out the detailed schedule for how the parties will select a group of AFFF involving personal injury claims for a pool of potential bellwether trial candidates. By December 11, 2023, the parties must submit a list of all plaintiffs with personal injury claims to the court. The court will then use this list to select 28 plaintiffs to include in the bellwether pool. Those cases will then go through case-specific fact discovery.
December 1, 2023: AFFF Cancer Cases Remain on the Back Burner of MDL
All of the recent orders on the AFFF firefighting foam MDL docket relate to a subgroup of water contamination cases called the Telomer Water Provider Cases. These cases were not part of the global settlement that resolved most water provider cases in August. Until these cases are resolved, the personal injury cancer claims will remain on the backburner.
November 17, 2023: MDL Adds 351 New Cases
There are now 6,400 pending cases in the AFFF class action MDL. A total of 351 new firefighting foam lawsuits have been added to the MDL over the last 30 days. Around half of the pending cases in the MDL are water contamination claims brought by local municipalities. These cases have already been settled. The remaining cases are product liability claims brought by individuals alleging personal injuries from AFFF exposure.
November 1, 2023: Bellwether Candidate Cases to Be Selected
A list of the AFFF personal injury plaintiffs who will be included in the pool of potential bellwether trial cases is due to be submitted by the end of this month. This group of personal injury plaintiffs will then go through a short fact-discovery process to learn more about their cases. After that is completed, the parties will select a few cases for the initial round of bellwether trials, which could happen late next year.
October 24, 2023: New Study on PFAS and Thyroid Cancer
People who have higher levels of a specific type of PFAS, known as linear perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), are more likely to develop thyroid cancer, according to a recent study set to be published in eBioMedicine, a Lancet journal. The study revealed that the risk of thyroid cancer increased by 56% in individuals with higher concentrations of linear PFOS.
October 17, 2023: Over 6,000 in MDL
Over the last month, eleven new cases were added to the AFFF firefighting foam class action MDL. There are now a total of 6,049 pending cases in the MDL, although a large percentage of these are municipal water contamination cases that have already been resolved in the global settlement.
October 2, 2023: Recent MDL Filings Summary
Following the global settlement in the water contamination cases this summer, the last month has been pretty slow in the AFFF class action MDL. This week, the MDL Judge granted a joint extension request on certain discovery deadlines. Earlier in the month a pair of insurance companies filed motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
September 18, 2023: Bellwether Trial Cases Named
Judge Gergel let the parties know last week that four water utility lawsuits from towns in California, New Jersey, New York, and South Dakota will form the pool for upcoming bellwether cases. Claims against 3M, DuPont, and Chemours are on hold as the settlement with those defendants goes through the approval process. But companies such as Tyco and Chemguard have not settled, and plaintiff lawyers will now lock in on those cases.
What about the AFFF personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits? We should have – hopefully this month – a bellwether trial schedule for those cases. If you want defendants to make reasonable AFFF foam settlement offers, you need to have trial dates to apply pressure. So a bellwether trial schedule will be a huge step toward settlement. AFFF attorneys have been debating the range of cancers that should be covered in the bellwethers.
These trials will be incredibly important because bellwether trials serve as a barometer, providing insight into potential outcomes for similar cases, which in turn helps inform and potentially streamline settlement negotiations.
September 14, 2023: Bellwether Schedule in Telomer AFFF Cases
Yesterday, the Judge in the AFFF class action entered a new Case Management Order setting a schedule for a new round of bellwether trials involving Telomer water contamination cases. These cases were not included in the recent water provider settlement because Telomer-based firefighting foam is chemically different than other types of AFFF. The defendants claim that Telomer AFFF does not contain the harmful PFAS. The new CMO set a presumptive trial date for the first Telomer AFFF bellwether trial for August 23, 2024. What remains unclear is how this might impact the bellwether trial schedule in the individual AFFF occupational exposure cases.
August 22, 2023: PFAS Settlement Fairness Hearing
Judge Gergel has given preliminary approval of the settlement agreement has been granted by the court in some of the municipality cases. A Final Fairness Hearing is scheduled for December 14, 2023, at 10 a.m. This proceeding should just be a rubber stamp.
August 21, 2023: Testicular Cancer
A new study in Environmental Health Perspectives underscores that testicular cancer is a potential risk of AFFF exposure.
August 19, 2023: Case Count
There are now 5,614 pending cases in the AFFF firefighting foam class action MDL. That is an increase of almost 1,000 new cases since June when there were 4,793 pending cases. Many of these pending cases are water contamination claims that were mostly resolved by the recent settlement.
August 18, 2023: New Fluorochemical Lawsuit
This month, a new firefighting foam lawsuit – Zimmerman v. 3M, et al. – was filed in the AFFF class action lawsuit, naming a laundry list of defendants.
The plaintiff, a 72-year-old Illinois man, was exposed to these awful chemicals during his service as a firefighter with the U.S. Navy. As a result of exposure to AFFF, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has caused Plaintiff to require a prostatectomy.
His personal injury lawsuit seeks fair compensation for injuries, pain, suffering, emotional distress, and punitive damages.
Plaintiff filed his suit directly in the MDL under Case Management Order No. 3, which allows plaintiffs to bring the action in South Carolina. If there is no settlement in this case, it would ultimately get transferred back to the Southern District of Illinois.
August 16, 2023: Insurance Coverage Battle
Four insurance companies have asked that Tyco’s insurance coverage claims be dismissed for the MDL class action. Tyco is contesting the dismissal, claiming its fight for insurance coverage for AFFF lawsuits should be fought in the MDL. Tyco insists the MDL is the correct and most appropriate place to litigate these claims.
Ironically, we are rooting for Tyco on this one. More insurance coverage will facilitate AFFF settlements.
July 17, 2023: Highest Monthly Volume for MDL
Nearly 500 new AFFF firefighting foam cases were transferred into the class action MDL over the last 30 days. That is the highest monthly volume of new cases since the MDL began over five years ago. There is no way to determine how many of these new cases are water contamination cases filed by local governments versus cancer cases filed by individuals with occupational exposure. There are now 5,227 pending cases in the MDL, but the recent settlement of the water contamination cases will eventually reduce that number.
July 1, 2023: MDL Continues to Grow
Over the last month, two hundred ninety-eight more cases were added to the AFFF firefighting foam class action MDL. The total number of cases in the MDL is now 4,793. It was recently announced, however, that the defendants have reached a global settlement arrangement to resolve all of the water contamination cases, so a large chunk of these pending cases will be getting dismissed eventually.
The good news is that moving on from the municipality claims – at least most of the lawsuits – will facilitate settlements for individual military and firefighter claims for many reasons. First, the settlement amounts seem smaller after throwing billions of dollars around. But these defendants also want to get these claims off their books, and more individual AFFF settlements will do that.
June 5, 2023: 3-Week Postponement of 1st Test Trial Granted
This morning, the MDL judge granted a joint motion to delay the bellwether trial that was supposed to start today. The judge has postponed the trial for 3-weeks based on representations from both sides that the parties are negotiating in good faith and have made considerable progress toward a resolution. Consequently, they believe focusing their efforts on resolving the matter, rather than preparing for trial would be the best path. This comes on the heels of rumors of 3M offering $10 billion to resolve the municipality claims.
June 2, 2023: DuPont and Others Settle Some Water Contamination Claims
The Chemours Company, DuPont de Nemours, and Corteva have agreed in principle to resolve all PFAS-related drinking water claims from a defined class of public water systems catering to most of the U.S. population. The companies will set up a settlement fund worth $1.185 billion, with Chemours contributing 50% and DuPont and Corteva splitting the remaining half. The settlement, awaiting final approval from the District Court for the District of South Carolina, excludes specific water systems.
Rumor has it this is just the beginning, and a $10 billion-plus settlement with 3M is also in the works. This would be the best thing to happen to victims bringing individual AFFF cancer lawsuits if we can clear out the drinking water lawsuits from the MDL.
May 23, 2023: EPA Limits for PFAS Allowed Into Evidence
The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, two types of PFAS, have been allowed as evidence in the first AFFF lawsuit heading for trial.
The defendants argued against including the EPA’s proposed limits, claiming they could change before being finalized and do not reflect the knowledge at the time of manufacture.
The judge denied their motion, allowing the evidence as it sheds light on the toxicity of PFAS and supports the plaintiff’s damages claim on removing PFAS from its water supplies. You can expect the defendants to appeal on this issue if there is a significant verdict in this first bellwether AFFF trial. But this information does provide important context for the jury, and an appeal on this evidentiary issue is unlikely to be successful.
May 18, 2023: AFFF Defendant Files Bankruptcy
In the upcoming trial next month, Kidde-Fenwal Inc. (KFI), a former manufacturer of PFAS-based firefighting foams, will not face liability claims due to its recent bankruptcy filing.
Judge Richard M. Gergel, the MDL judge presiding over the AFFF class action lawsuit, separated KFI from the impending trial set for June 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina after the firm declared bankruptcy last month.
The bankruptcy court in Delaware will now determine the next steps regarding the company’s bankruptcy petition.
The good news? There are plenty of defendants left.
May 16, 2023: Bellwether Pool for Firefighter Cases
Phase 1 of the bellwether trials in the MDL will feature three water provider cases (the first being the City of Stuart). Phase 2, however, will feature three personal injury cases. The AFFF MDL class action judge instructed the parties to identify a second bellwether pool. This pool will focus on injury claims asserting that the toxic firefighting foam contaminated drinking water in certain areas. The parties must select the cases by July 28, 2023, and present a joint list of selected or proposed cases to the court by August 11, 2023.
The judge wants to select 28 personal injury claims for the second bellwether pool from plaintiffs who argue they were exposed to AFFF through contaminated drinking water instead of direct contact. The cases will comprise eight claims each of kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and thyroid disease, along with four claims of ulcerative colitis.
The pool will only include victims alleging exposure to polluted water near Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, and the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster.
May 12, 2023: Preview of Pivotal First Bellwether Trial
The highly anticipated first bellwether trial in the PFAS/firefighting foam class action MDL will be in the municipal water contamination case of the City of Stuart v. 3M Co., et al. Stuart is a mid-sized beach town on Florida’s Atlantic coast, about 20 miles north of West Palm Beach.
The Stuart city water authority brought the lawsuit against a large group of companies that manufactured AFFF firefighting foam containing PFAS. The City claims that PFAS heavily contaminated its municipal water supply from these AFFF products. The defendants, however, insist that there is no credible evidence to prove that the PFAS that contaminated Stuart’s water supply came from their products. The City is seeking damages to compensate for the millions it spent to alleviate the contamination.
The outcome of this initial trial is expected to have a massive impact on the future of this litigation. For more info about the City of Stuart case, see our in-depth case summary: Pivotal First AFFF Bellwether Trial.
May 9, 2023: Defense Motion for Summary Judgment Denied
3M Co., E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Tyco Fire Products LP tried to get out of the upcoming bellwether AFFF trial. No dice. These and other companies could not evade a Florida city’s allegations of damages resulting from PFAS contamination in its waterways.
Federal Judge Richard Mark Gergel shot down their joint Motion for Summary Judgment, allowing the City of Stuart’s bid for compensation for the damages associated get AFFF its treatment system operation and maintenance to proceed. In his Order and Memorandum Opinion, the judge ruled that this Florida city is not bringing speculative claims, and a jury should decide if there should be compensation and what that compensation should be. However, the defendants won summary judgment on the city’s private nuisance complaint.
May 8, 2023: Evidence Battles in the Bellwether AFFF Trial
The court has recently received objections from the involved parties relating to the trial exhibits, which number in the hundreds. In response, a hearing has been scheduled for May 12, 2023. to address these evidentiary disputes.
The court considers the extensive volume of objections crucial for the parties involved and has ordered the lead trial counsel for each party that has raised objections to be present in the courtroom during the hearing. They will be required to argue each objection they have submitted personally.
In the meantime, the court has encouraged legal counsel to engage in further discussions to narrow down the contested exhibits before the hearing. This is the nuts and bolts of almost every trial.
May 2, 2023: New Study on PFAS in Firefighting Gear
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studied PFAS in firefighters’ gear, testing 20 textiles used to manufacture the gear.
The results, published yesterday, revealed the presence of between one and 17 PFAS in each textile, with higher concentrations found in the outer layers. This information will help companies produce safer gear and contribute to understanding if PFAS from the gear enters firefighters’ bodies, increasing their risk of cancer.
The study aims to provide answers to firefighters and their families and gather information for improving personal protective equipment. Firefighters across the US have filed lawsuits against manufacturers of PFAS and firefighter gear, alleging the chemicals have caused or increased the risk of cancer and other diseases.
May 1, 2023: Summary Judgment and Other Orders
In the AFFF class action lawsuit in the bellwether case heading to trial, the court has granted a motion for partial summary judgment filed by defendant National Foam. National Foam sought to preclude liability for any of the City of Stuart’s claims based on AFFF sales before June 28, 2013, when it acquired Kidde’s firefighting foam division and began operations.
The court found, not surprisingly, that National Foam cannot be held liable for damages related to sales before that date and granted the motion for partial summary judgment.
The judge also set other deadlines as the lawyers ramp up for this trial.
April 20, 2023: CDC Recognizes Risks of AFFF
The CDC is now grasping the risk of AFFF foam. This week, the agency announced the launch of the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer, encouraging all U.S. firefighters to enroll. The registry will track and analyze trends involving cancer rates among firefighters, which are known to be higher than the general public.
The NFR is part of President Joe Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” program and is being run through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It is designed to collect information about the work firefighters do and compare it with cancer information from state cancer registries, and was mandated by the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act passed by Congress in 2018.
April 19, 2023: Litigation Growth Slows
The number of pending cases in the AFFF firefighting foam class action lawsuit has increased by 115 in the last 30 days, with a current total of 4,173 in the firefighting foam MDL. Compared to the last few months, where an average of 300 new cases per month was seen, this is a notable decrease.
March 16, 2023: AFFF Class Action Now Has Over 4,000 Cases
Over the last 30 days, 354 new AFFF firefighting foam cases were added to the class action MDL, bringing the total number of pending AFFF cases up to 4,058. This is the second month in a row that the firefighting foam MDL has posted an abnormally high volume of new case filings.
March 7, 2023: New AFFF Lawsuit
A new AFFF firefighter lawsuit was filed this week. The plaintiffs in Keelan v. 3M are a husband and wife from Denver, Colorado. The 72-year-old plaintiff was exposed to fluorochemical products while working as a firefighter in Denver. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, leading to personal injuries, pain, and emotional distress. Sheila Keelan is James Keelan’s spouse, and as a result of her husband’s exposure, she suffered and will continue to suffer the loss of consortium, society, affection, assistance, and conjugal fellowship, affecting their marital relationship.
The plaintiffs are filing this firefighter foam lawsuit in compliance with Case Management Order No. 3, designating the United States District Court for the District of Colorado as the “home venue” where they would have filed the suit. The events giving rise to the claim occurred in Colorado. Their lawyers request that the case be immediately transferred to federal court in Colorado, a request that is unlikely to be granted.
February 17, 2023: New Lawsuits
The AFFF firefighting foam class action lawsuit added 317 new claims last month. Over last year, the MDL averaged 175 new cases per month, but that pace slowed down around the holidays, with just 88 new cases filed in the previous two months. This is a significant bounce back in the volume of new filings. Unfortunately, our ability to opine on the significance of this is limited until we sift through how many of these new cases involve personal injury claims versus municipal water contamination claims. There are now 3,704 total cases pending in the MDL.
February 13, 2023: Big Daubert Rulings Ahead
Daubert rulings on the admissibility of scientific causation evidence in the upcoming AFFF bellwether trial (City of Stuart v. 3M Co., et al.) are expected very soon.
What is a Daubert ruling? Daubert is named after a Supreme Court case that established the standard for the admission of expert testimony in federal court. The Daubert standard is a legal test that governs the admissibility of expert witness testimony in U.S. federal courts. The question is what testimony will the court allow from plaintiffs’ experts in the AFFF lawsuits. Will the court in any way restrain the plaintiffs’ expert opinion?
The Daubert standard requires that expert witness testimony be based on scientific knowledge that is reliable, relevant, and relevant to the case at hand. The standard requires the trial judge to act as a “gatekeeper” and to assess the reliability of the expert’s testimony and its scientific underpinnings before it is presented to a jury.
Although City of Stuart is a water supply contamination case, the Daubert decisions made in the case will likely apply to the admissibility of scientific evidence in the AFFF personal injury cases. Separate bellwether trials in the personal injury cases will be held after the water supply bellwether trials. But there is talk and hope of a global settlement – at least with defendants – before these lawsuits get that far.
January 24, 2023: AFFF Trial Motions
Last week, the plaintiffs filed opposition response briefs to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment in the upcoming firefighting foam bellwether trial case (City of Stuart v. 3M Co.). The defense motions argued that there was no evidence linking their specific AFFF products to the contaminated city water. The response filed by the plaintiffs cites expert testimony supported by “record evidence,” concluding that the particular products at issue were a “substantial contributing source” of the contaminated water supply. To defeat a summary judgment motion, the plaintiffs need to demonstrate that there is a fact dispute that a jury should resolve.
January 18, 2023: AFFF Litigation Continues to Grow
Forty-eight new AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits were transferred into the federal class action lawsuit over the last month. That brings the total number of pending AFFF lawsuits in the MDL to 3,387. This MDL has been averaging over 100 new cases. This may portend slower growth in 2023. But the volume of new filings has been low in every mass tort and could be a function of the holiday season slowdown.
January 12, 2023: AFFF Risks to Firefighters: A New Study
According to a new study in the journal Occupational Medicine, the cancer death rate among firefighters is 60% higher than in the general population. The study found that the mortality rates among firefighters for certain types of cancer were even higher.
For example, the prostate cancer mortality rate was 400% higher, and the rate for leukemia was 300% higher compared to non-firefighters. The study further confirms that chronic exposure to chemicals in AFFF causes cancer. If it is not AFFF causing these higher incidences of cancer, what is it?
January 3, 2023: Motions in First AFFF Lawsuit to Go to Trial
The first bellwether trial in the AFFF class action MDL will be in May 2023 in the case of the City of Stuart v. 3M Co., et al..
Last month, three defendants filed summary judgment motions in that case, hoping to get out before the trial. Chemguard, Inc., BASF, and Tyco filed virtually identical motions arguing that they should be dismissed based on a lack of evidence showing that their specific AFFF products were a source of water contamination in Stuart, Florida. The motions point to a lack of testimony by the plaintiffs’ fact or expert witnesses linking the defendants’ products to the water.
December 23, 2022: 100 More Firefighting Foam Lawsuits Added to Class Action
Over the last 30 days, 100 new AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits were added to the class action MDL, bringing the total number of pending cases in the AFFF class action up to 3,399.
The first bellwether trial is still set for June 2023, but it is in a municipal water contamination case, not a personal injury case.
November 17, 2022: AFFF Lawsuit Update: Small Growth in Class Action
The AFFF class action MDL grew pedestrianly over the last month. The MDL added 111 new cases over the previous month. This brings the total of pending AFFF lawsuits to 3,299.
For context, 2,100 firefighting foam lawsuits were pending the MDL at the beginning of the year. This means AFFF been one of the faster-growing mass torts in 2022.
These cases are a mix of individual personal injury cases brought by former firefighters and veterans with cancer and municipal water contamination lawsuits brought by local water authorities. So far, most of the attention in this class action has been focused on municipal water contamination cases.
November 4, 2022 AFFF Lawsuit Update: AFFF Settlement Efforts
The AFFF class action lawsuit judge has recently appointed a mediator to work with the parties in a series of settlement mediation sessions. These settlement talks will occur before the first bellwether test trial is set for next year.
Layn Phillips, a retired judge, will serve as the mediator. Phillips faces a difficult task since the AFFF class action MDL involves both claims by firefighters alleging that AFFF products caused their cancer and also claims by municipalities claiming that AFFF contaminated their water systems.
A global AFFF settlement will be complex because of the diverse defendants and plaintiffs. But the defendants may be eager to offer settlement compensation to plaintiffs in hopes of resolving some of the AFFF lawsuits.
The first bellwether trial is set for June 2023.
October 12, 2022 AFFF Lawsuit Update: Case Selected for First Bellwether Trial
The selection of a test case for the very first bellwether trial in the AFFF MDL was selected this week. The case is the City of Stuart v. 3M Company, et al., (2:18-cv-3487) and is a municipal water contamination case, not an individual personal injury case. The plaintiff in the case is a Florida (Stuart) town about an hour north of Palm Beach.
The city alleges that PFAS contaminated its municipal water supply system from AFFF firefighting foam manufactured by 3M and other defendants. The city is seeking damages for the cost of cleaning the toxic chemicals out of the water system. The trial is scheduled for June 5, 2023.
September 24, 2022 AFFF Lawsuit Update: 3M’s Big Defense Rejected by Class Action Judge
In a huge win, the firefighting foam class action judge has rejected 3M’s government contractor defense. 3M had filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that it should be immune from liability for injuries related to its firefighting foam products based on the application of the “government contractor” defense.
The MDL Judge held that the defense was not applicable because there is evidence that 3M knew about some of the potential hazards of its AFFF products, but failed to warn the government about them.
This is a major win for AFFF victims because the summary judgment motion would have eliminated many of the claims in the firefighting foam class action lawsuit. 3M made a similar government contractor argument in the earplugs litigation with the same result.
September 13, 2022: Fire Foam Lawsuit Trial Date Selected
In the new Case Management Order issued on Monday, the judge in the AFFF firefighting foam MDL indicated that the first bellwether test trial case would be selected in December 2022. So it is progress, albeit slow progress. The Order also advised that once the first bellwether case was selected, the trial will be set for April 2023. Our lawyers’ experience is that trial dates drive settlement talks. An even bigger driver for getting reasonable settlement amounts is getting a favorable outcome in the opening bellwether trial. That would be a considerable step toward negotiating a global settlement deal.
August 10, 2022: Firefighting Foam Class Action Update
From June 15, 2022, to July 15, 2022, 115 new AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits were transferred into the AFFF class action lawsuit. This brings the number of active AFFF lawsuits in the MDL to 2,700. Many of the newly filed AFFF cases are brought by plaintiffs who lived on or near military bases where firefighting foam was used. These plaintiffs claim that the use of AFFF caused PFAS to contaminate the water supply causing them to suffer adverse health consequences.
July 6, 2022 Update: New Study on Harm of Firefighting Foam
A new study in the medical journal Hypertension underscores the bandwidth of the harm these chemicals can cause. The authors of this study found a 42% to 47% increased risk of hypertension in women exposed to PFAS.
This study provides more evidence of PFAS chemicals’ link to cardiovascular disease risk. The participant in this study with the highest PFAS concentration in their system had a 71% increased chance of hypertension. This study was done on 1,058 women, 470 of whom were diagnosed with hypertension between 1999 and 2017.
June 16, 2022: AFFF Lawsuit Update
Ninety-two new firefighting foam lawsuits have been transferred into the AFFF class action MDL in the last month, bringing the total number of pending AFFF lawsuits up to 2,586. A little over half of these new were filed by individuals claiming that their exposure to firefighting foam caused them to develop cancer. The remainder of the new cases were brought by local municipalities for alleged contamination of the local water supply.
June 7, 2022: Motion to Compel AFFF Documents
The AFFF class action lawsuit plaintiffs are asking the court to compel defendants DuPont and Chemours Co. to produce thousands of documents that have been withheld on privilege grounds.
The nearly 40,000 documents at issue include internal communications and correspondence between DuPont and Chemours relating to the controversial corporate spin-off by which DuPont created Chemours. The defendants have claimed attorney-client privilege and common interest to shield these communications from discovery.
In their motion, however, the plaintiffs assert that there was no “common interest” between the two companies because DuPont and Chemours were counterparties with adverse interests in the spin-off. The plaintiffs also contend that the spin-off was a fraudulent transfer (by which DuPont dumped off liabilities) and, therefore, the crime-fraud exception prohibits using privilege protection.
Just last week, the defendants filed their response in opposition to the motion to compel, and the matter will likely be decided before the end of this summer.
May 6, 2022: New Study on Risks of Firefighting Foam:
A new study published this week by researchers from the Maine Medical Center Research Institute found that PFAS, the toxic “forever chemicals” found in AFFF firefighting foam, pose a previously unknown health risk. The study found that exposure to PFAS can cause reduced bone mineral density in adolescent boys, leading to bone fractures and a host of other orthopedic problems. The study is further evidence of the dangers of PFAS and firefighting foam.
April 14, 2022: Government Contractor Defense
One bottleneck in the AFFF lawsuit is the briefing protocol for the government contractor defense being asserted by numerous defendants. The defense, which has already flopped for 3M in the earplug litigation, is being asserted by so many defendants that it is hard for the firefighting foam MDL judge to hear from everyone separately. So both sides have submitted proposals for handling briefs on the issue. The court’s expressed goal was to receive a “single omnibus brief” on the issue, but neither of the proposals submitted so far come close to that goal. These are just the typical complications of MDL class action litigation.
[Update: This defense is ultimately rejected by the court. See above.]
March 17, 2022: AFFF Lawsuit Medical Evidence Update
On March 3, 2022, the Plaintiffs’ Scientific Committee submitted a letter to the judge in the AFFF MDL, attaching two documents that they identify as “significant new scientific” evidence of the link between the chemicals in AFFF and cancer. The first was a notice from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) identifying the chemical in AFFF as a known carcinogen.
The second document was a draft EPA finding that similarly identifies PFOA as a “likely” human carcinogen. Although defense counsel submitted their letter on March 15 disputing the significance of both documents, the link between PFOA and cancer is gaining momentum.
February 9, 2022: AFFF Lawsuit Update
The defense attorneys have filed a motion for partial summary judgment in an AFFF class action lawsuit based on a government contractor immunity argument. Our lawyers expect a ruling on that motion sometime near the end of March. Meanwhile, the next status conference is set for February 25.
January 19, 2022: AFFF Litigation Growth Update
There are now nearly 2,034 plaintiffs in the MDL class action lawsuit that houses all federal court cases in South Carolina.
December 17, 2021: AFFF Lawsuit Discovery Update
The recently amended schedule for preparatory discovery in the opening round of bellwether trials in the MDL AFFF class action lawsuit is set to begin in January 2023.
Under the new schedule, fact discovery in the pool of bellwether candidate firefighting foam lawsuits must be completed by February 21, 2022. The parties will have until June 30, 2022, to complete expert discovery in these cases. The new deadline for pretrial Daubert challenges and motions for summary judgment is July 18, 2022.
Firefighting Foam Linked to Cancer
AFFF (firefighting foam) is a particular foam substance used for decades to put out petroleum-based fires. AFFF contains poly-fluoroalkyl materials which are known as “PFAS.”
PFAS are chemical compounds containing fluorine and carbon. PFAS chemicals are resistant to heat and very effective at extinguishing class b fires fueled by accelerants such as gasoline, cooking oils, paint, and kerosene or other petroleum products.
Unfortunately, PFAS do not biodegrade and these chemicals will bind to proteins and accumulate in the bodies of humans in animals who are exposed to them. They can remain in the body for long periods. Sadly, the same durability that makes PFAS so valuable is what makes them “forever chemicals” that put exposed victims at risk. The built-to-last chemicals do not naturally break down. So they just stay in the victim’s body, increasing the risk of cancer, changes in liver enzymes, and other maladies.
PFAS have long been known to be a potential environmental contaminant. AFFF can get into drinking water and cause PFAS contamination.
Recently, however, PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam have been linked to certain types of cancer due to exposure.
In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a health advisory report warning that laboratory animal studies confirmed that exposure to PFAS can cause kidney and testicular cancer along with other adverse health effects.
Soon after, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) performed several studies on PFAS and concluded that individuals regularly exposed to PFAS chemicals have an increased risk of developing kidney, prostate, and testicular cancer.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reached the same finding and identified PFAS in firefighting foam as a human carcinogen.
AFFF Firefighting Foam Cancer – Who Has Been Exposed
Any individual with long-term, occupational exposure to firefighting foam could be at risk of developing cancer from exposure to PFAS. This would include firefighters, airport workers, chemical industry workers, and military service members. Although, these cases may be referred to as a “firefighting foam lawsuit,” the greatest number of claimants are former and active members of our military.
Scientists are still learning more and more about AFFF exposure and the individuals who developed cancer.
Our firefighting foam lawyers regularly monitor scientific developments that will illustrate whether those exposed developed cancer and the link between the two. Please call us today if you have an AFFF foam cancer claim.
Cancers Caused By AFFF Firefighting Foam
Any of the following cancers might be linked to AFFF firefighting foam:
- Pancreatic cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Breast cancer
- Liver cancer
- Leukemia
- Bladder cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Testicular cancer
- Prostate cancer
Which of these cancers are the the most common from firefighting foam? The literature suggests thyroid, kidney, bladder, testicular, prostate, and colon cancer. But exposed victims are likely at risk for cancer that go well beyond this list.
AFFF foam cancer claims continue to grow as more individuals learn of the link between their cancer diagnosis and previous exposure to AFFF. There are presently over 3300 PFAS and firefighting foam cancer lawsuits that have been filed in the PFAS class action lawsuit in the MDL.
Who Are the AFFF Defendants?
The defendants facing itigation for their involvement in the manufacture and sale of fluorochemicals and products containing them include:
- DuPont
- 3M
- BASF Corporation
- Chemours
- Corteva,
- Arkema
- AGC Chemicals Americas
- Dynax Corporation
- Kidde-Fenwal Inc.
- Clariant Corporation
- UTC Fire & Security Americas Corporation
- ChemDesign Products Inc.
These companies are all accused of manufacturing and selling AFFF, a firefighting foam agent, that contained PFOA and caused harm to individuals and the environment.
Firefighting Foam Lawsuits Are Being Filed
Many different companies have manufactured firefighting foam containing harmful PFAS over the years. The two biggest makers of AFFF were 3M and DuPont. There is no evidence to indicate that these companies were aware of the dangers posed by PFAS.
By the mid-1970s, 3M and several other major manufacturers of AFFF were already well aware that the PFAS chemicals in AFFF were toxic to the environment. By the early 1990s, these companies were also becoming aware that PFAS may have adverse health effects on humans, including increased cancer rates.
Firefighting foam lawsuits are being filed around the country against these manufacturers. Hundreds of AFFF lawsuits have already been filed and those in federal court have already been consolidated into an MDL class action in South Carolina. An AFFF foam lawsuit will allege that 3M, DuPont, and other companies knowingly sold their AFFF products despite the known health risks.
How long with the AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits take to reach a settlement? That is a good question and the answer is similar to the expected settlement amount question. It is speculation. The firefighter class action lawsuit is fluid and our AFFF lawyers will continue to keep readers of this site updated on any new developments. If history is a guide, we can expect an AFFF class-action lawsuit settlement in the next 12-24 months.
It is not just cancer victims who are bringing AFFF lawsuits. States are also bringing firefighting foam lawsuits. Most recently, North Carolina sued DuPont, Chemours, DuPont, 3M, and others alleging firefighting foam contains toxic chemicals causing groundwater contamination.
Who Can File a Firefighting Foam Lawsuit?
To qualify as a plaintiff for an AFFF lawsuit, our law firm requires that you meet two basic criteria:
- Exposure to PFAS: prospective plaintiffs must be able to show that they used or were otherwise exposed to firefighting foam regularly over a prolonged time. If you regularly used AFFF as part of your job (e.g., firefighter, airport maintenance crew, factory worker, etc.) you should be able to satisfy this requirement without any issue.
- Cancer: exposure to PFAS in firefighting foam alone is not enough to have a valid claim. Prospective plaintiffs in AFFF lawsuits must show that they were diagnosed with certain types of cancer after prolonged AFFF exposure. The types of cancer that are most strongly linked to firefighting foam are kidney and testicular cancer. Pancreatic and prostate cancer have also been connected to AFFF use.
Other law firms may have different criteria to review your potential AFFF lawsuit.
Firefighting Foam Lawsuit Settlement Amounts
The AFF lawsuits will eventually end in some type of global, mass-tort settlement agreement orchestrated by firefighting foam lawyers that sit on the AFFF MDL Steering Committee. It will be incredibly complicated.
It is in any mass tort case and AFFF lawsuits will be even more complicated to settle. But the facts and history suggest an eventual global settlement. In this type of settlement, the defendants agree to pay a large amount of money into a global settlement fund and payouts are distributed based on a formula.
The settlement amounts would be based on a tiered basis or on a points system. We will project settlement amounts with a tier system to simply what will certainly be an intricate process.
Tier One Settlements
Plaintiffs in the top tier (those with the most serious injuries) get a higher amount and those plaintiffs in the 2nd and 3rd tiers receive smaller cash settlement payments.
In the AFFF firefighting foam cancer cases, the top-tier plaintiffs will likely include those individuals with long-term occupational exposure AND diagnosis with the most dangerous types of cancer linked to PFAS (pancreatic or kidney).
Tier Two Settlements
The second tier will probably include plaintiffs with long-term occupational exposure and diagnosis with a less dangerous type of AFFF-linked cancer (testicular or prostate).
The third tier (and lower) will cover those plaintiffs with less evidence of exposure or use of AFFF and/or plaintiffs with less serious injuries such as liver damage.
What can we expect AFF lawsuit settlement amounts to be? That question is a moving target and, at this point, pure speculation.
Yet lawyers talk about settlement amounts of cases and we will share out speculation with you. Based on global settlements in prior mass tort cases, our attorneys anticipate that the top-tier plaintiffs in the AFFF settlement will get somewhere between $200,000 to $500,000.
Second-tier plaintiffs could expect to receive a settlement in the range of $150,000 to $300,000.
Tier Three Settlements
The third tier and lower will probably receive $75,000 or less settlement amounts.
Stating the obvious again: this is naked speculation. You will not truly know the settlement payout of an AFFF foam lawsuit until there is a settlement. But we can use the injuries and similar types of mass tort cases in the past to make an effort to project what these settlement values might be.
Firefighting What Is the Defense to the AFFF Lawsuit?
The AFFF foam lawsuits are a challenge for defense lawyers looking to avoid spending billions of dollars in settlements for AFFF victims. So 3M, DuPont, Tyco, and the other defendants are trying to hide behind the government to say the government knew of the risks of AFFF and asked them to continue to manufacture the product.
Many AFFF lawsuits are indeed premised on the government’s use of MilSpec AFFF. Many PFSA lawsuits allege the fluorocarbon surfactant components of MilSpec AFFF were unreasonably dangerous because they contained PFAS, PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS that break down into PFOS or PFOA.
This effort to hide behind the government’s skirt is called the government contractor defense, a doctrine that shields contractors from liability for damages from products meeting specific specifications to achieve military objectives. They contend that the government not only “approved” but wrote, issued, updated, and enforced the precise specifications for MilSpec AFFF that required fluorocarbon surfactant.
3M tried this very same defense recently in the earplug litigation. The MDL class action judge, in that case, rejected the government-contractor defense because the military did not request a design proposal for the earplugs and there was not a competitive bidding process that allowed the military to approve precise design specifications.
In their motion for partial summary judgment filed on n the AFFF class action lawsuit in the MDL, the defendants claim that they were required to use fluorocarbons in the product. Plaintiff’s AFFF lawyers will argue in their response that the design specification from the defendant was not sufficiently detailed.
More importantly, the defendants lose their protection under this doctrine because they failed to disclose what they know about PFAS risks. Knowing what is in a product and knowing that it might be dangerous in some contexts is very different from advising the military of the specific risk of a PFAS in AFFF.
The court denied this motion in September 2022. This was a huge win for plaintiffs.
Not All Law Firms Are The Same
Many good law firms are seeking AFFF lawsuits. Miller & Zois is one of them. We are a nationally recognized personal injury and civil trial firm. Our lawyers have over 150 years of combined experience representing individuals who have been harmed by the negligence exhibited by an individual or corporation.
Fellow lawyers often bring our law firm in on their biggest or most complicated cases based on our significant trial experience and vast financial resources.
Laura Zois is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, the nation’s most exclusive and prestigious group of trial lawyers. The Inner Circle of Advocates limits its membership to 100 of the nation’s most feared trial lawyers and is by invitation only.
Ronald Miller is a highly regarded trial lawyer, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and the co-author of Insurance Settlements, a two-volume treatise from James Publishing. Miller & Zois has been selected by U.S. News & World Reports as one of the nation’s top law firms.
At the end of the day, insurance carriers know of our reputation and willingness to take cases to trial if and when necessary.
Contact Miller & Zois to File Your Firefighting Foam Lawsuit
Our AFFF lawyers are currently accepting new firefighting foam cases from clients who meet the following criteria:
- Occupational exposure to AFFF (firefighting foam) for at least 1 year; and
- Diagnosis with one of the following types of cancer: pancreatic, testicular, prostate, or kidney.
If you meet these criteria contact us immediately to get your AFFF claim filed as soon as possible. You may be entitled to participate in the AFFF lawsuit settlement if you have developed cancer as a result of AFFF foam exposure. Our firefighting foam lawyers stand ready to assist your potential claim. Call our firefighting foam law firm today at 800-553-8082.