By Treven Pyles on August 26th, 2025 in PFAS/AFFF
The first bellwether trial for MDL No. 2873 was supposed to be held in October 2025, but Judge Gergel postponed trial dates in consideration of many unfiled cases. Plaintiffs are encouraged to file their cases within the 3-week filing window. If you are a military or civilian firefighter who has been diagnosed with a linkable disease, contact us as soon as possible to file your claim.
As of the beginning of August 2025, there were over 12,000 pending lawsuits under the AFFF MDL or the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation. The MDL includes tens of thousands of personal injury lawsuits against AFFF manufacturers for neglect and failure to warn consumers of the cancer-causing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contained in the firefighting foam.
Twenty-five plaintiffs were selected for the bellwether trials, with diagnoses including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, and ulcerative colitis. On August 15, the Court released a new order vacating the October 2025 bellwether trial, which would have focused on kidney cancer cases. With a large number of AFFF cases remaining unfiled, a new "filing window" had been set, and the court encouraged plaintiffs to file cases within the deadlines.
The filing window would be open for three weeks after the order release date (August 15) and would close on September 5, 2025. After this filing window, AFFF lawsuits may still be filed, but they would be subject to new requirements mentioned in Case Management Order No. 35.
AFFF claims may be filed by military and civilian firefighters who have been exposed to AFFF during their service and have been diagnosed with any of the following medical conditions:
As mentioned in the case management order, we need to verify your documents properly before filing on your behalf. For military firefighters, we need to evaluate your medical documents showing proof of diagnosis and your military records showing your AFFF exposure history. For civilian firefighters, we need to verify your medical documents showing your diagnosis and your employment records that can prove your AFFF exposure.
With new trial dates and possible settlements, the best time to file your AFFF claim is as soon as possible. If you are a military or civilian firefighter who was diagnosed with any of the medical conditions above after using AFFF, we highly encourage you to file an AFFF claim. With decades of experience in filing environmental exposure claims, our attorneys can navigate the filing process and court deadlines on your behalf. Contact ELG Law today so we can evaluate your case immediately.