forever chemicals

Most of you reading this are aware that PFAS belong to a family of compounds that are widely used in products, such as fire fighting foam, stain repellant coatings, and nonstick surfaces. Attorney Clay Hodges has written about PFAS in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) on this blog site. Please check out those previous blog posts if you are looking for more specific information regarding AFFF. There have been recent developments in the litigation surrounding PFAS, which this article will dive into, as well as provide background information about the chemicals themselves.

What are PFAS?

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in various industrial and consumer products since the 1940s. Known as ‘forever chemicals,’ they take an extended amount of time to break down in the environment, and in the human body. There are thousands of different PFAS: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) are two of the most widely used PFAS, and are the subject of recent EPA regulation, which will be discussed later in this article.

Back in June I wrote a blog post about a possible $1.185 billion settlement between several defendants in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2873 (AFFF MDL). This is a large amount of money, but given how many people and municipalities may have been harmed, this is almost a drop in the bucket when it comes to how much more money could be at stake here. In fact, just a few weeks later, there was news of another viable settlement in the AFFF MDL.

The 3M Settlement

According to its June 22, 2023 press release, 3M announced a potential settlement with public water suppliers, many of which are plaintiffs in the AFFF MDL. The settlement amount will be at least $10.3 billion. This money would be used to help public water suppliers remove perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from municipal water supplies as well as fund continued water testing.

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I was involved in a case for the faulty hip replacements. Clay Hodges represented me. I can't say enough about how much he has helped me. Clay was able to win multiple settlements on my behalf with most of them being the maximum amount able to be awarded. Matt J.

Clay, thank you sir for making a disheartening experience at least palatable, you and your staff were honest, caring and understanding through the entire process of my wife’s hip replacements, while monetary settlements never make the pain and suffering end, it sometimes is the only way people can fight back to right a wrong. J. V.

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