Manufacturers of products with PFAs chemicals may be in trouble, as a recent lawsuit against DuPont resulted in a $40 million fine for these chemicals in drinking water. This was in a federal court of appeals. Proving causes of ill health may be difficult, so this sets an important precedent in a legal system which heavily weighs precedents. As they say below, this case is but one of thousands.
Our government is just beginning to think about this health threat, which is making news much faster than any type of solution can be found.
Read the complete article with photos here are Reuters.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
DuPont loses challenge over cancer victim’s $40 mln verdict in PFAS case
(Reuters) – A federal appeals court has upheld a $40 million verdict for a cancer survivor who sued E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co after years of exposure to a toxic chemical that it manufactured.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday DuPont could not challenge the verdict, which relied on a finding in related cases that PFOA, a chemical discharged by DuPont into public waterways, was linked to the man’s cancer.
“The key concept applicable here is that DuPont’s conduct impacted the plaintiffs in virtually identical ways — contamination of their water supplies with a carcinogen,” wrote Circuit Judge Jane Stranch for the panel.
Abbott sued in 2017, claiming prolonged exposure to PFOA in his drinking water caused him to have testicular cancer twice.
DuPont has said Abbott’s level of exposure was unlikely to have caused his cancer.
A jury awarded Abbott $40 million after a 2020 trial in Ohio federal court, finding that PFOA was likely the cause of his illness.
Abbott’s case against DuPont is one of thousands in multidistrict litigation (MDL) consolidated in Ohio. The lawsuits claim that the company poisoned drinking water by discharging the chemical PFOA into waterways from its plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
