C8 DuPont Cancer Lawyer

The Dupont Co. and Chemours have agreed to resolve C8 cancer cases and environmental liability litigation. The binding memorandum of understanding announced in 2021 totals around $4 billion. The companies agreed to establish a $1 billion escrow account to address potential future PFAS liabilities, with annual contributions over eight years.

In 2017, a settlement was reached involving about 3,500 claims made against DuPont involving water contamination of its chemical C8. A Chemours Teflon plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia released millions of pounds of the C8 chemical into the Ohio River and into the surrounding air, causing thousands of injuries, including kidney and testicular cancer, and ulcerative colitis.

Allegations, consumer safety advocates, attorneys and the Ohio C8 cancer lawsuit claim that DuPont knew many years ago that C8 was in the Ohio and West Virginia drinking supply, yet failed to warn the public. As a result, the company continued to release the toxin into the Ohio River and air.

There were six water districts in West Virginia and Ohio contaminated with C8, including: the Little Hocking Water Association, the City of Belpre Tuppers Plains – Chester Water District, and the Village of Pomeroy. A number of private water wells were also contaminated.

Plaintiffs must satisfy the following to have a viable wrongful death or preventable cancer lawsuit:

• Confirmed diagnosis of Testicular or Kidney Cancer
• Resided in, attended school in, or was employed in one of affected water districts listed above
• Residency/School/Employment was equal or greater to one year between 1950 and 2004

Joe Lyon is an experienced Cincinnati toxic tort attorney reviewing the DuPont class action settlement and Ohio C8 cancer lawsuit. The Lyon Firm represents injured plaintiffs nationwide in a variety of toxic exposure cases.

What is C8?

C8 is a chemical also known as ammonium perfluorooctanoate acid (PFOA) which is used to make Teflon. C8 helped to prevent Teflon ingredients from clogging together during production. C8 is now known to cause kidney cancer and testicular cancer, among other adverse health conditions. If you have been diagnosed with testicular cancer or kidney cancer, you may be entitled to compensation from DuPont. Contact an experienced C8 cancer lawyer to investigate your unique situation.

In the 1970s and 1980s, DuPont conducted medical studies that showed C8 can build up in the blood, causing health problems, including cancer. DuPont’s internal communications stated that the chemical is “toxic,” yet continued to use the chemical. Not until many cancer victims and plaintiffs began filing lawsuits against Dupont, did the company discontinue the chemical.

Ohio and West Virginia residents and workers who resided in the water districts listed above, and have been diagnosed with cancer, should contact a lawyer to weigh the legal options available.

Ohio C8 Exposure & Related Illness

If you or a loved one lived in one of the contaminated areas, and have developed a related illness, you may have a personal injury claim. Any individual suffering from one of the linked diseases and cancers may have an injury claim and should contact an attorney to discuss pending Ohio Dupont Lawsuits.

Many cases have already settled for considerable sums, including a Washington County man who said C8 caused his cancer, and was awarded over $10 million.

A science panel created from a 2004 settlement has already discovered a probable link between C8 and kidney and testicular cancer. There are thousands of pending cases against Dupont and other chemical companies who have contaminated large swaths of land and waterways around the nation.

Researchers have linked PFOA and C8 acid exposure and ingestion to at six severe, life-threatening diseases, including:

• Ulcerative colitis
• Thyroid disease
• Kidney cancer
• Testicular cancer
• Pregnancy-induced hypertension
• High cholesterol
  

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C8 Cancer Studies

As early as 2012, experts revealed a “probable link” between Dupont’s C8 chemical and kidney and testicular cancers. For a long time, before legal pressure and evidence of toxicity, DuPont said that exposure to the C8 chemical used to make Teflon was harmless.

The Science Panel, however, concluded that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) put residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley (some West Virginia and Ohio counties) at a risk for developing kidney cancer and testicular cancer.

The six-year study of the DuPont chemical paved the way for huge number of pending injury and Toxic Exposure Cases. A class action lawsuit filed against Dupont alleged that the company knew of the toxic properties and failed to warn workers and residents, and allowed for widespread water contamination, linked to testicular and kidney cancer cases.

Medical testing for workers and residents in the Dupont contamination area provided early evidence of cancer and diseases linked to C8 exposure from Dupont’s Washington Works plant. As a result, DuPont and Chemours agreed to pay $671 million to settle about 3,550 personal injury lawsuits.

In West Virginia, DuPont used C8 since the 1950s to make Teflon and other nonstick products, oil-resistant paper packaging and stain-resistant textiles. DuPont agreed to phase-out the chemical, but safety advocates and attorneys are concerned about a growing list of possible health effects and cancer cases leftover from over 50 years of toxic exposure in Ohio and West Virginia.

Health experts have said the kidney cancer rate among residents exposed to high levels of C8 is between 20 percent and 60 percent higher than lesser or non-exposed residents. For testicular cancer, rates are 80 percent to 170 percent higher among residents with higher exposures.

Ohio C8 Class Action Settlement

The DuPont C8 class action settlement provided $70 million for a health and education project, the installation of modern water treatment technology for the six affected water districts, $20 million for mandated water filtering, $30 million to fund a health study, medical monitoring of class members, and a settlement fund for those suffering from related C8 diseases.

If you have lived in one of the C8 contaminated areas, and have consumed water contaminated with C8, you may have an injury claim. Any individual suffering from one of the six C8 linked diseases may have an injury claim and should contact an Ohio toxic tort attorney to discuss the legal process and the Ohio C8 class action settlement. Individuals will receive a settlement based on the severity of their C8-related disease.

In addition to several private drinking wells contaminated, six water districts may be at heightened risk of testicular and kidney cancer, including:

• Little Hocking (Washington and Athens Counties, OH)
• Belpre (Washington County, OH)
• Lubeck (Wood Country, WV)
• Tuppers Plains (Athens and Meigs Counties, OH)
• Mason (Mason County, WV)
• Pomeroy (Meigs County, OH)