Three AFFF Ulcerative Colitis Lawsuits Selected for Tier 2 Bellwether Trials

Lawsuits will join a pool of potential early test trials also involving kidney cancer, testicular cancer and thyroid disease injuries caused by exposure to PFAS contained in widely used firefighting foam products.

With the first federal aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) bellwether trial set to begin next month, the U.S. District Judge overseeing the litigation is already directing the parties to prepare for a second wave of test cases if no settlement is reached to resolve the litigation.

AFFF has been used for decades on military bases and airports to extinguish fuel-based fires during training exercises and real emergencies. However, this foam contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are now known to build up in the environment and the human body, potentially leading to a host of toxic side effects, including cancers.

Firefighters who routinely used the foam have been directly exposed to these “forever chemicals,” which are also known to have infiltrated groundwater and other drinking water supplies worldwide, particularly near military bases, airports and firefighting training sites. As a result, a number of communities throughout the U.S. have also been exposed to PFAS contaminated drinking water for decades.

3M Company, Chemguard and other chemical manufacturers now face more than 11,000 AFFF lawsuits filed by firefighters and residents nationwide. Each claim contains similar allegations, that the chemical manufacturers failed to warn their customers that AFFF use could result in drinking water contamination, exposure to PFAS, and the development of ulcerative colitis, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer, thyroid disease and other health problems.

Given common questions of fact and law presented in the claims brought throughout the federal court system, all AFFF lawsuits are currently centralized before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Over the past year, Judge Gergel has overseen the selection of 28 AFFF injury claims for bellwether trials. The first cases involve individuals who say they were exposed to contaminated water near Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, and the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster, and later developed kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease or ulcerative colitis.

The first AFFF injury lawsuit trial, involving kidney cancer allegations, is expected to begin next month on October 20, 2025.

However, when Judge Gergel originally announced the selections, there were eight of each kind of injury, but only four AFFF ulcerative colitis lawsuits. In December, he called for the parties to select between two and four additional AFFF ulcerative colitis claims to be added to the list of potential “Tier 2” bellwether lawsuits.

On September 10, Judge Gergel issued a court order (PDF) announcing the selection of three AFFF ulcerative colitis lawsuits to be added to the bellwether selections, including claims by Tracy Gutierrez, Mary Shuman and Sylvia Smith. The selections were jointly proposed by plaintiffs and defendants.

In addition, the judge indicated that a claim by James Zajicek had also been submitted by the parties and accepted by the court at an earlier date. That brings the total number of AFFF ulcerative colitis lawsuits into line with the other injuries at eight.

AFFF Lawsuit Bellwether Trials

While the outcome of these trials is not binding, they will be closely watched to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation, as well as the size of payouts awarded to plaintiffs, which could help the parties reach a global AFFF lawsuit settlement.

In June 2023, 3M Company agreed to pay over $12.5 billion in an AFFF water contamination settlement to resolve claims brought by local water suppliers, which have been left with the costs associated with removing the toxic chemicals from U.S. water sources. However, there have not been any reported settlements in AFFF personal injury lawsuits, and none of those individual claims have yet gone before a jury.

If the parties do not reach a settlement agreement or other resolution once the bellwether trials have been completed, Judge Gergel may begin remanding the cases back to their originating courts for individual trial dates.