Firefighting Foam Lawsuit: AFFF Settlements, Claim Values, MDL Status

The firefighting foam lawsuit is a federal mass litigation, consolidated as MDL No. 2873 in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, brought by public water systems and by individuals — mostly firefighters, military personnel, and airport workers — who say aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) contaminated drinking water and caused cancer and other illnesses. Manufacturers have already committed more than $14 billion to settle water contamination claims. Personal injury cases from individuals remain unresolved, and new filings have been largely paused since September 2025.1Lawsuit Information Center. AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuit2Simmons Hanly Conroy. AFFF Injury Lawyers

Why AFFF Is Being Sued Over

AFFF has been used to smother fuel fires since the 1960s at military bases, airports, refineries, and fire training grounds. It works partly because of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), synthetic chemicals nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down and build up in the body over time.3EPA. Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS

Two PFAS compounds drive the litigation: PFOA and PFOS. When foam was sprayed during training or emergency response, these chemicals soaked into soil and groundwater. The Department of Defense has identified 687 military installations with known or suspected PFAS releases, and a 2022 analysis estimated that roughly 600,000 servicemembers were being served PFAS-contaminated drinking water each year.4U.S. Government Accountability Office. Firefighting Foam Chemicals: DOD Is Investigating PFAS and Responding to Contamination5Responsible Statecraft. Forever Chemicals

The health science is what makes the cases viable. The C8 Science Panel, which studied communities near a DuPont plant from 2005 to 2013, found a “probable link” between PFAS exposure and both testicular and kidney cancer.6American Association for the Advancement of Science. PFAS Session Summary The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry links PFAS to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, increased cholesterol, reduced vaccine antibody response, liver enzyme changes, and pregnancy complications.7ATSDR. PFAS Health Effects The EPA has classified PFOA and PFOS as “Likely to Be Carcinogenic to Humans.”8Federal Register. Designation of PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA Hazardous Substances

Who the Defendants Are

The lawsuit names two groups of companies. The first is the AFFF makers themselves: 3M, which was the sole foam supplier from the mid-1960s until 1973 and kept producing until around 2002; Tyco Fire Products (a Johnson Controls subsidiary, which acquired Ansul in 1990 and Chemguard in 2011); Buckeye Fire Equipment Company; National Foam; and Kidde-Fenwal. From 1960 to 2001, the Defense Department bought AFFF exclusively from 3M and Tyco/Ansul.9NYU Law. New Hampshire PFAS Lawsuit Complaint

The second group is the chemical suppliers that produced the PFAS ingredients other foam makers used: DuPont, its spin-off The Chemours Company, Corteva, BASF Corporation, Arkema, AGC Chemicals Americas, Daikin, and Dynax Corporation, among others.10Connecticut Attorney General. State of Connecticut AFFF Complaint

One defendant, Kidde-Fenwal, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2023. Its parent, Carrier Global Corporation, proposed a $730 million settlement in October 2024, with $540 million for Kidde-Fenwal’s creditors and $190 million for drinking water contamination claims. Several state attorneys general have objected, arguing the plan’s third-party releases for Carrier run afoul of the Supreme Court’s Purdue Pharma ruling.11ManufacturingDive. Carrier Proposes $730 Million AFFF PFAS Settlement for Kidde-Fenwal12Connecticut Attorney General. Attorney General Tong Objects to Kidde-Fenwal Bankruptcy Deal

Which Illnesses the Court Is Focused On

Judge Richard Gergel has narrowed the personal injury litigation to eight conditions listed in the official plaintiff fact sheet:

  • Kidney cancer
  • Testicular cancer
  • Liver cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Thyroid disease
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Pregnancy-induced hypertension
  • High cholesterol

Plaintiffs with conditions outside that list can still file under an “other injury” category, but they face additional procedural requirements.13U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Case Management Order No. 5G – Amended Personal Injury Plaintiff Fact Sheet

Who Can File a Claim

The primary claimants are people who worked with AFFF and were later diagnosed with a related illness. That covers civilian, military, and airport firefighters; service members stationed at bases where AFFF was used in training; and workers at industrial sites where the foam was regularly deployed. Family members and estate representatives of people who died from a covered illness have also filed.14VA Public Health. PFAS Exposures15Sokolove Law. Firefighting Foam Lawsuit

Statutes of limitations vary by state, generally one to four years for personal injury. Most states apply a discovery rule in toxic exposure cases, so the clock typically starts when a person knows, or reasonably should have known, that the illness is connected to AFFF exposure. People diagnosed years after their exposure may still be within the window.1Lawsuit Information Center. AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuit

Timing has become the harder question. After Judge Gergel opened a 21-day Filing Facilitation Window ending September 5, 2025, plaintiffs filed 37,446 new cases in a single week around the deadline.16Miller & Zois. Firefighter Foam Cancer Lawsuit The court then imposed a quasi-moratorium on new personal injury filings as of September 10, 2025.2Simmons Hanly Conroy. AFFF Injury Lawyers That functions as a practical cutoff for now, though the situation is fluid as the court manages its caseload.1Lawsuit Information Center. AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuit

Veterans can pursue a lawsuit while also seeking VA disability benefits. The VA currently has no presumptive service-connection for PFAS exposure and evaluates those claims individually.14VA Public Health. PFAS Exposures

The Water System Settlements

Four class action settlements with public water systems have received final approval from Judge Gergel, together committing more than $14 billion.17PFAS Water Settlement. PFAS Water Settlement

These deals resolve public water system claims only. They do not cover personal injury claims, property damage claims, or suits brought by state attorneys general.23Reuters. 3M Reaches Tentative $10.3 Billion Deal Over Forever Chemicals Claims An individual firefighter or veteran who was exposed to AFFF is not compensated by any of the water system settlements.

What Individual Claims May Be Worth

A court-appointed special master is working with plaintiff leadership and defendants on a settlement matrix, a points-based system that would value claims by exposure severity, illness type, and other factors.24CallFOB. AFFF Lawsuit Update

No individual settlements have been paid yet, and any figures circulating are projections. Legal observers have sketched three tiers based on comparable toxic exposure cases: Tier 1 claims (long-term occupational exposure combined with high-risk cancers) at roughly $300,000 to $600,000; Tier 2 at $150,000 to $280,000; and Tier 3 at less than $75,000.25SSKB Law. AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuit These are estimates, not confirmed payouts.

Where the Personal Injury Cases Stand

The MDL is enormous. As of January 2026 there were 15,213 pending cases and 19,788 total cases on the docket, and one legal source estimated the total MDL caseload topped 100,000 after the September 2025 filing wave.1Lawsuit Information Center. AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuit2Simmons Hanly Conroy. AFFF Injury Lawyers

No personal injury bellwether trial has been held. The first, focused on kidney cancer claims against 3M, was originally set for October 2025 and was postponed after the surge of filings overwhelmed the court’s schedule. A new trial date has not been confirmed, though rescheduling for mid-2026 or later is anticipated.16Miller & Zois. Firefighter Foam Cancer Lawsuit24CallFOB. AFFF Lawsuit Update

Expert witness fights are central to what comes next. In an earlier water contamination bellwether brought by the City of Stuart, Florida, Judge Gergel rejected 3M’s motion to exclude the plaintiffs’ expert testimony, ruling that the methods met the reliability standard.26Levin Law. Court Allows Expert Testimony in First AFFF Bellwether Trial Against 3M How similar Daubert rulings come out on the personal injury side will heavily influence any global resolution.

Legal observers widely expect a global personal injury settlement sometime in 2026 or 2027, though the timeline depends on how the pending Daubert rulings, the delayed bellwether trials, and the special master’s matrix negotiations play out.27MDL Update. MDL 2873 – Aqueous Film-Forming Foams For anyone who believes they have a claim, the practical step is to consult a lawyer familiar with the MDL soon, because the filing moratorium and the state statutes of limitations both create hard timing pressure that no future settlement will undo.