AFFF Lawsuit Updates
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Did you fight fires with AFFF foam, serve on a base that used it, or drink water it contaminated? If you were later diagnosed with cancer or thyroid disease, your claim sits in the one part of this litigation that is still open. Some fifteen thousand cases are pending in the federal AFFF proceeding in South Carolina, and new ones are still being filed.
The billions in the headlines went to water utilities for cleanup. The injury cases have not settled and have not reached a jury. On September 28 the court dismissed thousands of claims whose paperwork was incomplete, which makes complete medical records the thing that keeps a claim alive. This page covers both tracks and what to watch for next.
Diagnosed with kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease or another PFAS-linked condition after working around firefighting foam or drinking contaminated water? You can ask for a free case review. Whether your history supports a claim depends on the diagnosis, how you were exposed, and your state's deadline. Pick the one that fits:
Free and no obligation. Deadlines are set by your state and can run from the date of diagnosis. Submitting a review request does not create an attorney-client relationship.
This page is general legal education, not legal advice, and it reports on litigation that is still moving. Nothing here evaluates any individual reader’s claim or creates an attorney-client relationship.
Where the AFFF Litigation Stands Now
The federal proceeding, In re: Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2873, docket 2:18-mn-02873-RMG, sits before Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina. It was consolidated in 2018 and is now one of the largest active MDLs in the country. The October 2026 federal court report puts it at 15,264 pending cases, against 19,840 ever docketed.
The shape of that number has changed. The docket surged in late 2025, when the court opened a short window for unfiled cases, and it has been close to flat since. July stood at 15,244 and August at roughly 15,246. Both the pending count and the total ever docketed are identical in the September and October reports. That report counts cases, and one case can carry many claimants, so the claims Judge Gergel dismissed on September 28 do not show up in that figure.
Firefighter, military, or airport worker with a PFAS-linked diagnosis? Claims are still being filed, and deadlines run on state law tied to diagnosis rather than to when the exposure happened.
Check Whether You May QualifyWhere the Billions Already Paid Went
Every large AFFF settlement announced so far went to public water systems, to pay for cleaning PFAS out of drinking water. This is the part of the litigation headlines get wrong most often, so it is worth being precise about who was paid.
3M agreed to pay up to roughly $10.3 billion over thirteen years to public water suppliers. DuPont, Chemours and Corteva agreed to a package of about $1.185 billion for the same class of claimant, approved in February 2024. Further utility settlements followed from Tyco, BASF and Carrier.
The water side kept moving through September 2026. Chemours, DuPont and Corteva agreed to pay North Carolina and eleven local water authorities $455 million over fifteen years. Judge Gergel also gave preliminary approval to four more water deals, covering Amerex, Archroma, Carrier and Nation Ford.
Government enforcement runs on its own track. In June 2026 Chemours agreed to a federal settlement worth more than $450 million, covering four plants in West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey. It breaks down as a $22.5 million penalty, about $150 million for pollution controls, and $280 million to supply drinking water to affected communities. Headlines about that figure are easy to mistake for payouts to people who got sick. Taken together these are among the largest environmental settlements in United States history.
Every one of them is an infrastructure reimbursement deal. The money funds water treatment and remediation, and it was paid to utilities. Those settlements have their own official notice site at pfaswatersettlement.com, which is the place to look if the question is about a water system rather than a diagnosis. Claims by people diagnosed with cancer or thyroid disease sit on a separate track, which remains open, unsettled, and still waiting for its first trial.
What has happened recently
- , the court dismissed thousands of claims over missing paperwork. Judge Gergel followed a special master's recommendation and dismissed roughly 13,226 claims without prejudice. Those claimants had not turned in a completed plaintiff fact sheet, or medical records showing the injury they claim. Without prejudice means the claim can be brought back. The window to turn in the missing paperwork is fourteen days from a final dismissal order.
- A smaller group lost their claims for good. The same order dismissed 25 claims with prejudice, which ends them. Those plaintiffs had filed before March 1, 2025. Claimants who objected on time are on hold while the judge rules on their objections, and the companies had to answer those objections by October 5, 2026.
Filed an AFFF claim and unsure whether your paperwork is complete? The fact sheet and the medical records behind it are what kept claims alive in September. Your own lawyer can confirm where your file stands, and a free review can tell you what the court now requires.
Start a Free Case Review- , the thyroid and liver cancer science went before the judge. The companies asked the court to throw out the testimony of the scientists plaintiffs rely on to tie PFAS to thyroid and liver cancer. Judge Gergel set a new briefing schedule for those motions. If the companies win, those claims lose the expert testimony they depend on.
- , a firefighter gear case was cut back. Connecticut firefighters say the PFAS in their turnout gear got into their bodies. Turnout gear is the jacket and pants they wear into fires. Judge Alvin Thompson let part of that case go forward and threw out the rest. He dismissed the medical monitoring claims, which asked for paid checkups, along with the punitive damages claims. He also ruled that the firefighter unions cannot sue on their members' behalf.
- , the same case lost its bid to sue as a class. Judge Thompson denied the firefighters' certification motion. That case may also move to Minnesota, where gear claims were gathered into their own group in August 2026 as MDL 3191. Gear claims and foam claims are two separate litigations.
- , three companies settled with North Carolina. Chemours, DuPont and Corteva agreed to pay the state and eleven local water authorities $455 million over fifteen years. The money covers PFAS discharges from the companies' Fayetteville Works plant, along with some contamination elsewhere in the state. Like the settlements before it, this one pays water systems. The companies stated that residents keep their own personal injury claims.
- The first injury trial still has no date. A test trial was set for October 20, 2025 as a kidney cancer case. In August 2025 the court took it off the calendar. Too many cases had not been filed yet, and many of the filed ones had not been vetted. A filing window then ran until September 5, 2025. As of early October 2026 the court has not set a replacement date.
- , the second group of test cases moved. Both sides were due to put forward candidates for the next bellwether group, covering thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis. Case-specific discovery on the selected cases continues.
- Through mid-2026, the court kept its structure in place. Judge Gergel extended the lawyer leadership teams on both sides while the second group of test cases moved forward. That is a court getting ready for trials rather than winding down.
- , a federal appeals court upheld the EPA's PFAS rule. The D.C. Circuit left in place the EPA's designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances. That ruling governs who pays to clean up contaminated sites. Injury claims run through the South Carolina litigation instead.
- , four more water settlements cleared their first hurdle. Judge Gergel gave preliminary approval to deals between public water systems and Amerex, Archroma, Carrier and Nation Ford. Water systems have until November 23, 2026 to object and until December 22, 2026 to opt out. A fairness hearing is set for January 15, 2027. Like the earlier deals, these pay water systems.
- June 2025, a hearing on thyroid and liver cancer. The court set aside a day for expert presentations on whether AFFF causes those two conditions, going beyond the four illnesses in the original test group.
- How the test group was built. A 2024 order limited the first round of test cases to four conditions: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, and ulcerative colitis. Kidney cancer was chosen to go first and is still widely seen as the strongest of the four.
Why a Trial Date Is What Everything Waits On
Courts handling thousands of similar cases pick a few to try first. Lawyers call them bellwether trials. The point is to put a number on what a case is worth, because until a jury decides one, nobody knows.
That is why the cancelled October 2025 date is more than a scheduling note. A trial on the calendar is what usually pushes both sides toward a settlement, and a year on there is still nothing on the calendar to push with. That leaves the companies more room than the people suing would like.
Before any thyroid or liver cancer case reaches a jury, the court has to rule on whether the plaintiffs' scientists can testify that PFAS causes those illnesses. Those motions were filed in August 2026 and are the gate the calendar now waits behind.
Lawyers following the case expect a broad settlement for the injury claims in 2026 or 2027, once the first trials produce results. All of that starts with a date being set. For how this works generally, see bellwether trials and how mass torts work.
Your Filing Deadline Runs on Its Own Clock
This is the part worth acting on. Filing deadlines for injury claims are set by state law and usually run from the date of diagnosis. That clock runs on its own, whatever the utilities settled for. If a diagnosis is recent, timing is normally the first thing a lawyer looks at.
No trial date does not mean no deadline. The court calendar and your state’s filing deadline are two separate clocks, and the second one does not wait for the first.
Start a Free Case ReviewWhat to watch from here
- Whether a new injury trial date is set, and whose case goes first.
- How the court rules on which expert evidence is allowed for each illness.
- Whether thyroid and liver cancer join the four conditions in the first test group.
- The first sign of a broad settlement for the injury claims, none of which has been reached so far.
- Whether filings pick up again. The count has been close to flat since the September 2025 window closed.
- EPA action on PFAS in drinking water, which shapes the wider picture.
How This Updates Page Fits With the Main AFFF Page
The main AFFF foam exposure page covers who was exposed, which diagnoses are involved, and what records tend to matter. That material changes slowly. This page tracks docket movement and trial scheduling, which change often. The broader PFAS picture sits on PFAS Water Contamination Lawsuit Update, and deadlines are covered state by state on PFAS Lawsuit Statute of Limitations by State.
Case counts, settlement figures, and court schedules reported here reflect public reporting available on the date above and should be confirmed against the docket before being relied on.
Sources
- Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, Pending MDLs — the monthly report the pending and total case counts for MDL 2873 come from, posted on the first business day of each month.
- District of South Carolina, Case Management Order No. 36 in MDL 2873 — entered the week after CMO 35, and describes the terms CMO 35 set for filing and bringing the personal injury cases.
- District of South Carolina, AFFF MDL frequently asked questions — the court’s own page on how cases are filed directly into the MDL.
- District of South Carolina, AFFF MDL forms — the plaintiff fact sheets and related forms the court requires.
- U.S. Department of Justice, Chemours settlement announcement (June 24, 2026) — the federal enforcement settlement and how its money is allocated.
- Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. EPA, No. 24-1193 (D.C. Cir. August 18, 2026) — the decision upholding the PFOA and PFOS hazardous substance designation.
- Docket 2:18-mn-02873-RMG, entries 11371 and 11730 — the special master’s recommendation of September 3, 2026, and Judge Gergel’s order adopting it on September 28, 2026.
- Reuters, “3M, DuPont must face Connecticut firefighters’ lawsuit over ‘forever chemicals’” (September 15, 2026) — press coverage of the Connecticut turnout gear ruling.
- Docket 3:24-cv-01101-AWT (D. Conn.), entries 430 and 432 — the September 2026 rulings on the motions to dismiss and on class certification.
- Chemours, DuPont and Corteva, North Carolina PFAS settlement announcement (September 10, 2026) — the $455 million water settlement, and the companies’ statement on personal injury claims.
- Official AFFF public water system settlements site — the water settlements that have received final approval from Judge Gergel, which are the large payments described above.
Figures and dates above should be confirmed against the original sources.
Related Lawsuit Topics
AFFF Foam Exposure
Firefighter and military claims, and what records matter.
PFAS Water Contamination Update
The wider PFAS litigation beyond firefighting foam.
PFAS and Kidney Cancer
The diagnosis selected to go first in the bellwether pool.
PFAS and Testicular Cancer
The second condition in the original bellwether group.
PFAS Deadlines by State
Filing periods, and why they usually run from diagnosis.
Bellwether Trials
Why the first verdict decides what everything else is worth.
Find Out If You May Have a Case
If you worked with AFFF foam as a firefighter, in the military, or at an airport or industrial site, a free case review may be worth it. The same applies if you drank water the foam contaminated. It is aimed at people later diagnosed with kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, or another linked condition, and it can tell you whether that history fits a claim.
Free and no obligation. Lawsuit Center is not a law firm and submitting a request does not create an attorney-client relationship.
