
If you became ill following repeated exposure to PFAS (per- and polyflouroalkyl substances), you can file a PFAS lawsuit. Multiple PFAS cases are ongoing throughout the United States, and you have the right to join one of those class-action lawsuits or to file a suit on your own with the help of an attorney with knowledge of the PFAS situation.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), those who suffer from exposure to PFAS could end up with multiple health problems, including:
- Cancer (bladder, blood, kidney, liver, pancreatic, prostate, testicular, thyroid)
- Low birth weights
- Preeclampsia
- Thyroid (hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, Hashimoto’s, Grave’s, Goiter, thyroid nodules)
- Ulcerative colitis
You can use a PFAS lawsuit to try to receive compensation for your injuries. Some of the awards you might be entitled to include compensation for losses such as:
- Past and future medical bills
- Transportation costs
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
If your loved one died related to PFAS exposure, you might be entitled to compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit. Some of the expenses this could cover include:
- Funeral costs
- Burial costs
- Loss of support
- Loss of consortium
Manufacturers in the United States have been using the chemicals that make up PFAS since the 1940s. As these chemicals enter the environment, they can cause harmful effects on the human body. They do not break down in the future, which means they can stay in the body.
Studying PFAS
Additional health problems could result from repeated exposure to PFAS. Health officials and researchers continue to study the effects of PFAS on humans and animals. No one yet knows all of the different ways PFAS exposure could affect humans.
PFAS consists of hundreds of chemicals and compounds, and researchers have studied only a small number of these compounds. It is possible that, after future studies, other chemicals that are part of PFAS may show long-term danger for humans.
As researchers and health officials learn more about PFAS, this knowledge could change some of the ways people will file lawsuits in the future. You may have suffered a PFAS exposure that does not result in some of the most common symptoms, yet you could have illnesses and injuries that an attorney may be able to show occurred because of PFAS exposure.
Common Places to Find PFAS
PFAS chemicals could be found anywhere, but they most commonly appear in the environment in areas around facilities that used these chemicals for decades before their harmful effects became obvious.
Some of those types of facilities include:
- Industrial facilities
- Oil refineries
- Military bases, especially aircraft bases
- Firefighting practice areas
- Food processing facilities that used PFAS
In areas around those facilities, the PFAS could end up in the groundwater, which may lead to further contamination for humans and animals.
How Humans are Exposed to PFAS
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), humans may end up with exposure to PFAS through a variety of items, including:
- Food packaging: Some types of food packages contain PFAS, creating a potential exposure.
- Drinking water: Where PFAS contamination in municipal water sources occurs over time, people can be exposed to PFAS in their drinking water.
- Exposure to animals: Some fish and other animals contain PFAS, which humans could consume after eating.
- Working in factories: Those who work in facilities or factories where PFAS usage commonly occurs could have received a significant level of exposure.
- Products: Certain items people use on a daily basis contain PFAS chemicals, including water-resistant fabrics, waxes, cleaners, and nonstick products.
Regardless of when the exposure to PFAS occurred, the damage to the human body may not show up until years afterward. An attorney might be able to help you determine when your exposure occurred and who bears responsibility.
Let Us Represent Your Interests
With exposure to PFAS, your life could change significantly going forward. You can file a PFAS lawsuit to attempt to seek compensation for your injuries, as well as the potential for those injures to cause a significant reduction in your quality of life going forward.
At Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, we are ready to defend your right to seek compensation in this type of case. We do not shy away from tough cases. Contact us today at (800) 788-4155 for a free consultation. We will be ready to begin working on your behalf as soon as you hire us.