Lawsuit Update Center
Our legal team is actively managing lawsuits nationwide related to AFFF firefighting foam.
This page offers the latest updates on the AFFF firefighting foam class action lawsuit and provides an estimation of potential settlement amounts for individuals involved in AFFF cancer lawsuits.
The Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) is utilized in fire suppression and is commonly known as firefighting foam. Recent findings indicate that extended exposure to certain chemicals within AFFF firefighting foam could lead to cancer. Individuals who were consistently exposed to firefighting foam and subsequently diagnosed with kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, or testicular cancer may have grounds to file an AFFF firefighting foam lawsuit and pursue financial compensation.
All federal lawsuits regarding AFFF firefighting foam have been consolidated into a “class action” multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the District of South Carolina.
UPDATES:
January 15, 2025: New AFFF Death Lawsuit
In a new AFFF wrongful death lawsuit filed last week, the estate of a deceased firefighter from Joliet, Illinois, has brought claims against numerous manufacturers and distributors of PFAS-containing products, including firefighting foams and turnout gear. The complaint, filed by the firefighter’s wife as the personal representative of his estate, alleges that the decedent’s prolonged occupational exposure to PFAS through these products caused his fatal cancer.
The firefighter served with the Joliet Fire Department from 1971 to 2000, during which time he routinely wore turnout gear and used AFFF (Aqueous Film-Forming Foam) in training and firefighting operations. The lawsuit asserts that the PFAS chemicals in these products were absorbed through his skin, inhaled, and ingested during normal and foreseeable use, and that manufacturers failed to warn of the known health risks.
The plaintiff contends that the defendants were aware for decades that PFAS chemicals were toxic, bioaccumulative, and persistent in the environment but continued to market these products as safe. The estate seeks damages for wrongful death, alleging negligence, defective design, and failure to warn about the dangers of PFAS exposure.
January 14, 2025: Potential AFFF Settlement in 2025
Of all the mass torts that we are tracking, the AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits seem to have the highest potential for a global settlement in 2025. Why? For starters, the AFFF defendants already finalized a global settlement deal in the cases involving municipal water contamination. This settlement suggests that the defense recognizes that the science behind these cases is valid. Now the primary focus of the litigation has shifted to the AFFF personal injury cases and we think another global settlement could get done before the end of the summer.
January 6, 2025: Ulcerative Colitis Cases Get Recognition
Attorneys in the firefighting foam MDL recently filed a joint request asking the MDL judge to issue a new Case Management Order that will create a separate tier 2 bellwether discovery pool for cases in which the plaintiff’s primary injury is ulcerative colitis. A few UC cases have already gone through the tier 1 discovery process. Now a handful of these cases will be selected to go through a more intensive discovery phase to prep them for test trials.
January 3, 2025: MDL Posts Monthly Growth
For the last several months the AFFF firefighting foam class action MDL has been shrinking in terms of the number of pending cases. This was mainly due to the dismissal of municipal water contamination cases that were part of the August 2023 settlement deal.
During the month of December, however, the MDL was back to growth mode. 270 new cases were added into the MDL over the course of the month. There are now 7,633 pending cases.
December 10, 2024: In the AFFF firefighting class action MDL, we now have a date set for the first bellwether test trial in one of the personal injury cancer cases (as opposed to an AFFF water contamination case). The first bellwether trial is set for October 6, 2025, so less than 1 year from now. Getting a trial date set is a very big deal because it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the defendants and their legal team. Taking a case to trial is a massive risk for the defense because if the first test trial yields a big verdict it could inflate the price tag for any global settlement deal. This means that the defense will be more motivated to bear down and hammer out a global settlement at some point before the trial date.
As of right now, there are about 7,300 cases pending in the AFFF firefighting foam MDL. However, a large percentage of these cases are still water contamination cases that are in the process of being dismissed following last year’s settlement deal. We don’t know exactly how many of these pending cases are individual cancer cases, but it is probably somewhere around half.
AFFF Linked to Cancer
AFFF, known as aqueous film-forming foam, is a type of foam designed for combatting high-intensity fires often fueled by substances like gasoline. The active components in AFFF firefighting foam belong to the PFAS group (poly-fluoroalkyl substances).
PFAS chemicals possess an exceptional resistance to extreme heat and remain unaffected by oil or water breakdown. However, this resilience also means PFAS do not naturally decompose, persisting in the environment and easily spreading through soil, contaminating groundwater and water bodies. This enduring quality has earned PFAS the label of “forever chemicals.”
Scientific research conducted over the past decade has revealed that prolonged exposure to PFAS in firefighting foam may lead to specific cancer types. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a health advisory citing animal studies indicating a link between extended PFAS exposure and kidney and testicular cancer.
Studies by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have demonstrated that human exposure to PFAS significantly heightens the risk of kidney, prostate, and testicular cancer. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Cancer Society have concurred, classifying the chemicals present in AFFF firefighting foam as human carcinogens.
Occupational Exposure to AFFF
Individuals engaged in specific occupations or professions that involved regular utilization of AFFF firefighting foam, whether by themselves directly or by their colleagues, are deemed to have undergone “occupational exposure” to PFAS from the firefighting foam. Foremost among these are firefighters who frequently employed AFFF or conducted training sessions involving AFFF firefighting foam.
Other instances of occupational exposure to AFFF firefighting foam encompass individuals who worked in settings where AFFF was used, manufactured, or disposed of. For instance, AFFF was frequently utilized during training sessions at commercial airports, military bases, and industrial facilities. Employees or workers at these sites might have experienced PFAS exposure through indirect contact.
Cancers Linked to AFFF Exposure
Scientific studies have established that prolonged exposure to AFFF firefighting foam, whether through occupational contact or groundwater contamination, can lead to elevated incidences of certain types of cancer. These cancers associated with AFFF exposure include:
- Kidney cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Testicular cancer
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Liver Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Leukemia (and other blood cancers)
- Prostate cancer
People who can demonstrate exposure to chemicals present in AFFF firefighting foam and subsequently developed one of these cancer types might have grounds to file an AFFF lawsuit seeking financial compensation.
Defendants in AFFF Lawsuits
The defendants named in AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits are companies responsible for manufacturing and selling AFFF products. Various companies were involved in producing firefighting foam, with DuPont and 3M being among the major manufacturers and key defendants in the ongoing AFFF litigations.
Evidence has surfaced indicating that as early as the 1970s, manufacturers like 3M, DuPont, and others were well aware of the potential environmental toxicity of the PFAS in their AFFF products. Furthermore, by the 1990s, these companies became cognizant that these chemicals posed harm to humans and could potentially be linked to cancer through long-term exposure.
Settlement Value of AFFF Lawsuits
The resolution of the AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits is expected to occur through a mass tort global settlement. Typically, in such settlements, the defendants contribute a substantial amount to a settlement fund, which is then allocated to individual plaintiffs who opt to accept the settlement.
The compensation for individual plaintiffs is determined by a tiered ranking system. Those with stronger and more compelling AFFF cancer cases are placed in the top tier and receive higher settlement awards. Plaintiffs with less compelling cases are placed in lower tiers and receive comparatively lower compensation.
In the AFFF lawsuits, the top settlement tier is likely to include plaintiffs with extensive occupational exposure to AFFF and diagnosed with the more severe types of cancer linked to AFFF, such as kidney or pancreatic cancer. Plaintiffs in lower settlement tiers might encompass individuals with lesser occupational exposure or diagnoses of less severe forms of cancer associated with AFFF.
Drawing from previous mass tort cases involving cancer, our legal team estimates that AFFF firefighting foam cases in the top settlement tier may have a value ranging between $300,000 to $600,000. Cases in the second tier are anticipated to have an estimated value between $150,000 to $280,000. Third-tier cases might result in settlement payouts of $75,000 or less.
Who is Eligible to File an AFFF Lawsuit?
Our mass tort attorneys are actively pursuing AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits nationwide, focusing on individuals who meet two primary criteria:
AFFF Exposure: Eligible plaintiffs must demonstrate regular exposure to PFAS from AFFF firefighting foam either through their occupation (e.g., firefighters, airport workers, etc.) or exposure to contaminated groundwater.
Cancer Diagnosis: Plaintiffs who were exposed to AFFF for prolonged periods need to provide evidence of being diagnosed with one of the cancers associated with PFAS exposure, such as kidney, testicular, prostate, pancreatic, liver, bladder, ovarian, etc.
Hire a Lawyer
We are currently accepting new AFFF firefighting foam cases in all 50 states. Contact our AFFF class actions lawyers today to get your case started. Contact us today at 888-322-3010 or online for a free consultation.
