The chemical company DuPont is now facing personal injury lawsuits from people who were exposed to C8, a toxic chemical that leaked into the groundwater in parts of Ohio and West Virginia.
You may qualify for compensation if you were exposed to C8 for at least one year before December 3, 2004, and suffered from high cholesterol, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hypertension during pregnancy, or other health conditions.
UPDATE: DuPont Hit with 965 C8 Injury Lawsuits
June 17, 2014 — The Charleston Daily Mail reports that DuPont has been hit with 965 personal injury lawsuits involving C8, a toxic chemical that contaminated drinking water in the Mid-Ohio Valley for decades. Click here to read more.
November 11, 2013 — Federal judges have ordered that 46 personal injury lawsuits involving C8 will be centralized in a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Click here to read more.
January 22, 2013 — DuPont has requested that 26 personal injury lawsuits be transferred to federal court for centralization in a Multi-District Litigation (MDL). Click here to read more.
October 29, 2012 — Researchers from the C8 Science Panel have concluded a 6-year study and found a “probable link” between exposure to the DuPont chemical C8 and high cholesterol. As part of a legal settlement, any “probable link” connections mean that DuPont will need to fund up to $235 million to test people who may have been exposed. Click here to read more.
October 24, 2012 — Three personal injury lawsuits have been filed against DuPont in Wood County Circuit Court. The two injury claims involve thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis. One wrongful death claim was filed by a woman whose husband died of kidney cancer in 2008. Click here to read more.
What is C8?
C8 (also known as perfluorooctanoate acid, or “PFOA”) is a chemical that was produced at DuPont’s Washington Works plant, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. C8 has been manufactured at Washington Works since the 1950s as a processing agent used to make water-resistant clothing, Teflon, non-stick products, oil-resistant paper packaging, and more.
Unfortunately, emissions from the plant allowed large amounts of C8 to leak into the groundwater and air in West Virginia. DuPont also disposed of the chemical in landfills along the Ohio River. This process contaminated drinking water in the Mid-Ohio Valley and parts of West Virginia.
Who was exposed?
You may have been exposed if you were drinking contaminated water for at least one year from any of the following six water districts, or from wells within these districts that were contaminated with C8.
The affected water districts are:
- Little Hocking, Ohio
- Lubeck Public Service District, West Virginia
- City of Belpre, Ohio
- Tuppers Plains, Ohio
- Mason County Public Service District, West Virginia
- Village of Pomeroy, Ohio
Exposure must have occurred before December 3, 2004. It does not matter where you currently reside, so long as you lived in one of the contaminated areas and drank the water for at least one year. Lawsuits have already been filed throughout the United States.
C8 Class Action Lawsuit
In 2005, a massive C8 class action lawsuit settled on behalf of more than 70,000 people in six water districts in West Virginia and Ohio. DuPont agreed to pay more than $71 million to fund a health and education project for members of the class action lawsuit and install a water-treatment facility. Now, C8 is nearly undetectable in the drinking water.
The settlement also required DuPont to establish a three-person epidemiological panel to determine whether there is a “probable link” between C8 and health problems, such as cancer or birth defects.
Side Effects of C8 Exposure
If you have suffered from any of the following serous side effects of C8 exposure, you may qualify for a personal injury lawsuit against DuPont. Researchers have found a “probable link” between C8 and the following severe, life-threatening side effects:
- High cholesterol
- Kidney cancer
- Testicular cancer
- Thyroid disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis)
- Preeclampsia — high blood pressure (hypertension) among pregnant women
- And more
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