Firefighter Foam Water Contamination Lawsuit Filed Over Liver Cancer Diagnosis

A California couple has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) products, as well companies that sold the toxic “forever chemicals” it contained, alleging that the husband’s liver cancer diagnosis was caused water contamination from the firefighting foam used on military bases and airports near their home.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Akhtar and Rashida Khan on August 8, joining thousands of similar firefighter foam water contamination lawsuits consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. The lawsuit names dozens of different companies as defendants, such as 3M Company, Chemguard, DuPont, Raytheon, BASF and others, alleging they are responsible for widespread water contamination and resulting health consequences.

Firefighter Foam Water Contamination Concerns

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (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 the name “forever chemicals”.

Researchers have linked a myriad of adverse health effects linked to PFAS, including testicular cancer, kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis and other side effects, which can develop among firefighters directly exposed to the foam, as well as individuals living in areas where the firefighter foam contaminated drinking water.

Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) 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 that the PFAS in AFFF would contaminate water supplies and the human body.

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

According to the complaint, Akhtar Khan developed liver cancer after years of consuming PFAS-contaminated water from Sacramento, California and other municipalities. Those waters, Khan claims, were heavily contaminated with the Defendants’ PFAS chemicals, due to the heavy use of the firefighter foam on nearby military bases and airports.

While Khan was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016, the lawsuit indicates neither he, nor his doctors, were ever told about the heavy PFAS contamination in the municipal water supply, nor were they told those chemicals could cause cancer.

Khan had to undergo substantial medical treatment to battle his liver cancer, including chemotherapy and liver transplant surgery. However, the lawsuit notes that he still must worry about his future health due to his exposure to firefighter foam water contamination.

“To this day, Defendants’ fluorochemical products remain in Plaintiff’s body, subjecting Plaintiff to ongoing exposure to PFAS chemicals and further increased risk of disease and cancer recurrence,” the lawsuit states.

Khan presents claims of defective design, failure to warn, negligence, gross negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligence per se, past and continuing trespass and battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress, and his wife presents a claim for loss of consortium. They seek both compensatory and punitive damages.

August 2024 PFAS Lawsuit Update

The Khans’ lawsuit will be consolidated with all firefighter foam water contamination lawsuits, 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 AFFF 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 AFFF lawsuit payout awarded by juries may influence future firefighter cancer settlement negotiations to resolve the litigation.

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. However, there have not been any reported settlements in AFFF injury lawsuits, and none of those individual claims have yet gone before a jury.