Lawsuit Alleges PFAS Contaminated Drinking Water Caused Kidney Cancer Diagnosis

PFAS manufacturers knew for years that their toxic chemicals were contaminating drinking water, lawsuit claims.

An Alabama woman indicates that she developed kidney cancer from contaminated drinking water, which contained high levels of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from firefighting foam and a number of other products released into the environment in the vicinity of her home.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Karen Lunsford in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on October 7, alleging that a number of chemical and fire safety equipment manufacturers are liable for her life-long injuries, including 3M Company, BASF Corporation, DuPont and others.

PFAS Water Contamination

PFAS include a group of more than 9,000 man-made substances, which are widely used to resist grease, oil and water. However, they are known to persist in the environment and build up in the human body, which has resulted in them being called “forever chemicals.”

Researchers have linked myriad adverse health effects to PFAS, including testicular cancer, kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis and other side effects, which can develop among  individuals living in areas with PFAS contaminated drinking water.

Much of the contamination has been blamed on the use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which has been widely used for decades by the U.S. military and local fire departments to combat fuel-based fires. However, the manufacturers of the fire fighting foam now face product liability claims alleging that they failed to adequately warn about the risk of PFAS contamination of water supplies and the human body.

While many AFFF cancer lawsuits have been filed by former firefighters directly exposed to the chemicals during training and response exercises, Lunsford’s complaint joins a number of PFAS water contamination lawsuits, alleging that individuals living near military bases, airports and firefighting training centers developed kidney cancer, liver cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, ulcerative colitis and other thyroid-related injuries.

Lunsford’s lawsuit claims her drinking water has been contaminated by PFAS for years, leading to continuous exposure.

The lawsuit indicates she and thousands of other plaintiffs nationwide suffered such exposures because manufacturers of the chemicals and fire safety products failed to warn the public about the risks of PFAS in AFFF, which the manufacturers allegedly knew about for decades.

Instead of disclosing information about the risks or taking steps to clean up contaminated drinking water, the kidney cancer lawsuit indicates the companies placed a desire for profits and preserving their reputations over the health and safety of the public.

“For a substantial period of time, Plaintiff was exposed to Defendants’ AFFF and fluorochemical products by ingesting drinking water contaminated with Defendants’ AFFF and fluorochemical products. As a result, Plaintiff regularly and unknowingly ingested Defendants’ AFFF and fluorochemical products,” the lawsuit states. “Because of Plaintiff’s exposure to Defendants’ AFFF and fluorochemical products, Plaintiff was diagnosed with kidney cancer.”

Lunsford presents claims of design defect, failure to warn, negligence, gross negligence, battery, fraudulent concealment, active and constructive fraudulent transfer, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

October 2024 PFAS Water Contamination Lawsuit Update

This new lawsuit will be consolidated with all similar lawsuits over PFAS contaminated drinking water, as well as firefighter cancer claims linked to the chemicals in AFFF foam, which are currently centralized before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina for coordinated discovery, pretrial proceedings and a series of early bellwether trials.

Last year, Judge Gergel established a bellwether process where a small group of lawsuits are going through case-specific discovery and pretrial motions in preparation for a series of early PFAS trial dates expected to begin in 2025, which will be used to help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

While the outcome of these early bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on other claims, it is expected that the amount of any PFAS water contamination lawsuit payouts awarded by juries may influence future settlement negotiations to resolve the litigation.

In June 2023, 3M Company agreed to pay over $12.5 billion in a PFAS water contamination settlement, to resolve claims brought by local water suppliers. However, there have not been any reported settlements in PFAS injury lawsuits, and none of those individual claims have yet gone before a jury.