Former Firefighter Claims PFAS in Firefighting Foam Caused His Kidney Cancer

A newly filed lawsuit claims dangerous chemicals in firefighting foam caused a Floridian man’s kidney cancer diagnosis and subsequent kidney removal. This lawsuit joins over 200 others, each similarly alleging that firefighting foam exposure caused health complications like prostate cancer, testicular cancer, heart cancer, and breast cancer.

According to the complaint, James Edward Collie was regularly exposed to aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) during his career as a military and/or civilian firefighter. The former firefighter alleges that exposure to toxic chemicals called per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in AFFF caused his kidney cancer diagnosis and following kidney removal.

PFAS are manmade chemicals designed to resist heat, water, grease, and stains. They were first introduced to the manufacturing industry in the 1940s and have been since included in numerous products including plastics, food packaging, and, notably, Class B AFFF.

“AFFF is a specialized substance designed to extinguish petroleum-based fires,” Collie’s lawsuit indicates. “It has been used for decades by military and civilian firefighters to extinguish fires in training and in response to Class B fires.”

However, since their release on the market, PFAS have been linked to adverse health conditions such as liver damage, decreased fertility, thyroid disease, and cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PFAS can build up or bioaccumulate inside of the body and never break down, causing the aforementioned injuries.   

Collie’s lawsuit, filed on December 8th, indicates he regularly used and was directly exposed to firefighting foam to help fight fires and train to fight fires. However, Collie was never informed that the foam was toxic or that he would need protective gear in order to safely to handle the foam.

“AFFF and its components are associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects in humans,” Collie indicates in his complaint. “Exposure to Defendants’ AFFF has been linked to serious medical conditions including, but not limited to, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer, testicular tumors, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, bladder cancer, thyroid disease, and infertility.”  

Numerous companies across the U.S. manufacture firefighting foam containing PFAS including 3M Company, Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, and Chemguard, Inc. These companies, among others, are named as defendants in Collie’s lawsuit.

According to Collie’s lawsuit, AFFF manufacturers knew as early as the 1960s about PFAS toxicity and never warned consumers about the health risks. Additional studies conducted in the last decade have confirmed the health risks of exposure to PFAS in AFFF.

“By at least 2010, additional research and testing performed by Defendants manufacturing and/or using PFAS, including at least 3M and DuPont, revealed multiple potential adverse health impacts among workers exposed to such PFAS,” Collie’s complaint states.

Firefighting Foam Lawsuits

Due to the increasing, similar claims that AFFF exposure caused injuries, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) decided to centralize these federal lawsuits as part of a multidistrict litigation. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel now oversees these lawsuits in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division. Collie and other individuals filing firefighting foam cancer lawsuits in this litigation are suing for damages for personal injury caused by PFAS in AFFF.

As part of pretrial proceedings, Judge Gergel established a “bellwether” trial process to help address the increasing lawsuits. Bellwether trials are a series of early trial dates designed to help parties gauge how juries might respond to certain testimony and evidence likely to be repeated throughout the claims.

By the end of the bellwether process, if parties have not reached a firefighting foam settlement, each individual case may be remanded back to the U.S. District Court it was originally filed in for a future trial date.

Firefighting Foam Exposure Caused Fatal Leukemia, Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claims

The wife of an ex-firefighter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against firefighting foam manufacturers, claiming exposure to toxic chemicals in the foam caused her husband to develop and die from acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This lawsuit joins hundreds of others from across the U.S., each alleging toxic foam caused individuals to develop severe injuries.

Last week Deidre Culhane filed her complaint in the U.S. District Court from the District of Southern California. The claim, brought forward on behalf of her and her late husband David, claims he was exposed to toxic aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for nearly 40 years during his career as a firefighter.

Ms. Culhane indicates in the lawsuit that her husband was regularly exposed to firefighting foam during his time as a firefighter at the Arlington Fire Department. A year after he retired, Culhane was diagnosed with AML, which caused his death several months later. There was no prior family history of AML.

“Slowly and tortuously, Mr. Culhane was overcome by the disease,” Ms. Culhane states in the lawsuit. “On July 18, 2018, he finally succumbed to the cancer and passed away in the presence of his family. The last year of Mr. Culhane’s life could best be described as a perilous struggle against a disease whose origin was still a mystery to his family and him. It remained a mystery until October 2019, when Plaintiff discovered information about AFFF being a human carcinogen.”

The lawsuit calls out several manufacturers and distributors of firefighting foam as defendants. AFFF manufactures named in the lawsuit include 3M Company, Chemguard, Kidde-Fenwal, Inc., and the Chemours Company.

Toxic Firefighting Foam Side Effects

AFFF foam has been actively used by military bases, airports, and civilian fire fighting organizations for decades. However, recent research has found that chemicals added to fire fighting foam can be toxic to human health.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals designed to resist grease, oil, water and heat. AFFF manufacturers have added PFAS to their foam since the 1940’s to help fight oil-based fires, but these chemicals can be found in everything from plastics to furniture.

Recent studies uncovered PFAS can build up inside of the body and never break down, causing severe side effects. According to health officials at the FDA, CDC, and American Cancer Society (ACS), PFAS can increase individuals’ risk of developing cancer. Lawsuits brought forward by those injured by firefighting foam exposure claim PFAS in AFFF caused cancer diagnoses including testicular, pancreatic, ovarian, and liver cancer.  

“Defendants in this case knew the risks AFFF presented to the health of human beings,” the lawsuit states. “They knew that the users of PFAS containing AFFF would most often be those who take on the most sacred of public charges. But instead of informing the selfless public servants, giving them a chance to choose if the risk was worth the use, Defendants simply took that agency away from people like David Culhane.”

In December 2018, lawsuits against firefighting foam manufacturers for PFAS exposure where centralized as part of a multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina for pretrial proceedings.

Which Companies are Responsible for PFAS in Firefighting Foam?

In recent years researchers have found that chemicals in firefighting foams, or aqueous film forming foams (AFFF), are potentially carcinogenic and may contribute to firefighters and exposed individuals’ cancer diagnoses. For decades many of the most popular firefighting foams on the market have contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate can cause cancer and other adverse symptoms in those exposed. Some of the most at-risk individuals for firefighting foam cancer are military, local, and industrial firefighters.

According to firefighting foam cancer lawsuits being filed across the nation, AFFF manufacturers knew about the dangers of PFAS chemicals for decades, potentially back to when they were first introduced in the 1940’s. However, these companies continued to make and sell them without properly warning the public about the health risks. For example, the state of New Hampshire is suing eight companies for PFAS in firefighting foams, saying that their products were defective and unreasonable dangerous to consumers and users.

Firefighting Foam Manufacturers

If a company failed to take proper precautions to protect consumers from health risks, they can be held responsible for your injuries. Some manufacturers named as defendants in firefighting foam lawsuits across the nation include the following:

Were You Diagnosed with Cancer After Exposure to AFFF?

If you are a firefighter, were exposed to PFAS in firefighting foam, and developed cancer, you may be eligible to file a claim against companies that made firefighting foam and contributed to your injuries.

A company’s lack of proper safety warning should never define your suffering and injuries. Hold the negligent responsible and call us today. The personal injury attorneys at Justice for Firefighters have decades of combined experience fighting for the rights of injured individuals. For your free case consultation, contact us today at 1.800.935.3533.