Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), sometimes known as “firefighting foam,” has long been used to put out fires fuelled by petroleum or oil. Since 2016, the EPA, CDC, and American Cancer Society have warned consumers about the association between AFFF and certain types of malignancies. This is even though many military members, firefighters, and airport workers have been exposed to AFFF for years or even decades. A firefighter foam lawsuit helped them.
The two primary producers of AFFF, 3M, and DuPont, may be required to compensate those exposed to AFFF and later acquired cancer. Many AFFF claims recently combined into multi-district federal litigation still have hundreds of pending cases. Who should bring an AFFF case, and what information should you be aware of before filing a claim?
Cancer sufferers who were exposed to AFFF may be eligible for a financial settlement.
Many people who had long-term exposure to AFFF and later got cancer sued firefighting foam makers in state and federal courts when the link between AFFF and cancer was established. These firefighting foam cancer cases claimed that while knowing that AFFF constituted a risk to users for years, the manufacturers did not alert customers or companies to these dangers or advise them to take the necessary safety steps.
Plaintiffs who will receive compensation from the AFFF settlement include:
- Those who spent decades being exposed to fire-fighting foam
- Those whose diagnosis of cancer or another sickness kept them from working or resulted in their accruing large medical bills
- Those who have a severe and challenging form of cancer, such as
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Breast cancer
- Cancer of the pancreas
- Bladder cancer
- Prostate cancer
Workplaces with AFFF Exposure People who have worked in environments with AFFF for a long time are more likely than others to develop malignancies linked to PFAS. However, exposure to AFFF can increase cancer risk in several professions. These consist of the following:
- Military personnel, including active-duty and retired
- Those who performed contract work on a military installation
- Both civilian and military firemen
- Airport personnel
- Work in the chemical sector
- Workers on oil rigs and in the petroleum industry
Although the terms “firefighting foam” and “AFFF” are frequently used interchangeably, AFFF is most familiar to the military. People who have served in the Middle East are particularly likely to have been exposed to AFFF. The chemicals in firefighting foam may have also been inhaled by anyone working on offshore platforms or at industrial facilities where fires involving petroleum had broken out.
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