Whenever a product fails to meet industry standards for efficacy and safety, a liability lawsuit is filed against its manufacturer. This is how the story of Class B firefighting foam’s lawsuit starts. Produced in the mid-1960s, Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) was a shining breakthrough for the US Navy.
The foam’s low viscosity made it particularly effective in tackling fast-spreading liquid-fuel fires. It had become an integral part of the firefighting industry for decades. However, little did the firefighters or the Navy know of the risks lurking on the horizon.
AFFF was manufactured using chemicals that had a strong carbon-fluorine bond – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. These formed a group of over 12,000 chemicals that could not easily break down in the environment or the human body.
It was found that they were largely carcinogenic. Firefighters exposed to AFFF for years developed cancers of the testicles and kidneys. They filed the AFFF lawsuit in 2017. As of now, certain cases have been settled, whereas others are keeping plaintiffs on the edge of their seats. Will the remaining lawsuits be settled in 2024?
In this article, we will discuss the two categories of AFFF litigation and the progress made on each.
One Half of the Litigation Settled
According to TorHoerman Law, the firefighting foam lawsuit was filed under two categories – the water contamination cases filed by municipalities and personal injury cases filed by military personnel. In June 2023, the first-ever Bellwether trials in this litigation were held.
The chosen case was Florida’s City of Stuart water contamination against defendants like 3M and DuPont. Despite several attempts to win the trial in their favor, the defendants were losing. Finally, 3M agreed to pay $10.3 billion for PFAS identification and cleanup.
This amount will be paid over 13 years to all municipalities that suffered water contamination due to PFAS. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still has 180 Superfund sites with PFAS pollution. Cleanup may take over five decades.
After the agreement with 3M, the plaintiff’s counsel had a clear idea of what to expect for individual payouts. By the end of 2023, the AFFF lawsuit update was that one-half of the litigation had been taken care of.
An Unexpected Roadblock
With the water contamination lawsuits settled, attorneys were preparing themselves for personal injury case trials. It was expected that the trial process would begin by the middle of 2024. However, matters took an unexpected turn by the 2023 year closing.
It was found that certain cases were filed for Telomere-based firefighting foam. These cases would form a separate group because Telomere-based foam had at least 30% less fluorine when compared to regular AFFF. The court decided to conduct trials for these lawsuits first (as water contamination cases had already been tackled).
As a result, attorneys started to prepare for a wholly different trial. This meant that the personal injury cases would be dragged along further. The plaintiffs were aggravated by the slow litigation progress because many were on the verge of succumbing to their injuries.
Case Numbers Continue to Grow
The personal injury trials expected to take place in the middle of this year will be replaced by cases against Telomere-based AFFF. More personal injury lawsuits are being filed as both sides prepare for these trials.
Presently, over 7,000 cases are awaiting settlements nationwide. These numbers are only growing each month. In February 2024, 176 new cases were added to the MDL and the numbers this month would also reach the hundreds.
Furthermore, this litigation has taken an interesting turn. Within the personal injury case category, some firefighters have alleged that their injuries may be attributed to PFAS found in turnout gear. Traces of PFAS are indeed present in these professionals’ personal protective equipment (PPE).
The reason seems to be the chemicals’ properties of water and oil resistance. The court has decided to focus on turnout gear-specific cases as well. Meanwhile, a new alarming study found that consumption of processed food items like candy bars, soda, fast food, etc., increased the PFAS levels in the blood over time.
While the nation must deal with the problem of getting rid of PFAS, firefighters still wait for justice. It seems unlikely that any personal injury trials or settlements will take place this year. The defendants in this litigation, 3M in particular, have agreed to stop PFAS production by the end of 2025.
This does spell good news, but the damage already done can scarcely be reversed. The AFFF innovation cost firefighters their lives and health, as well as communities that suffered from water contamination.
Research is ongoing for effective PFAS management and removal. It is expected that these chemicals can be disintegrated using the electrocatalysis method. However, these technologies are in their novel stages and require rigorous testing before they can be used widely.
Thank you for reading.
