Turnout gear PFAS lawsuit: who may qualify and what comes next

Who may qualify?

If you worked as a firefighter, wore turnout gear and later got cancer, a lawyer can check whether you have a claim. Turnout gear is the protective gear firefighters wear, such as coats, pants, hoods, helmets, gloves and boots. The lawsuits say some of this gear contains PFAS and that PFAS can harm firefighters.

PFAS are a large family of chemicals that contain fluorine. State laws define them as chemicals with at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.

Most of the federal gear cases were not filed by firefighters. Cities, counties and fire districts that bought turnout gear brought them. They raise claims such as carelessness, defective products and false statements, and they seek to sue for groups of gear buyers.

Firefighters have filed their own case too. In June 2024, Connecticut firefighter unions and several firefighters sued gear and chemical makers in federal court. They asked to represent all Connecticut firefighters who have worn PFAS-containing gear from the companies they sued. In a class action like this, a few people sue on behalf of a larger group. On September 15, 2026, the judge let the firefighters' own claims move ahead, in part. It was an early ruling on what the lawsuit claims. It did not find that the gear harmed anyone. The unions cannot seek medical monitoring or money for their members. On September 23, 2026, the judge declined to ask Connecticut's highest court about medical monitoring for this kind of exposure, without prejudice.

The Connecticut firefighters' court filing lists kidney, testicular, thyroid, prostate, bladder, breast and ovarian cancer among the health risks it ties to two PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS. These are claims in a lawsuit, not findings by a court. The order that created the federal gear case does not name any cancers.

How is this different from the AFFF foam case?

AFFF is a firefighting foam, and it has its own federal case, MDL 2873, before Judge Richard M. Gergel in South Carolina. The panel said that case is only for harm from making, using or disposing of the foam. It would not move gear-only cases into it.

The panel noted that thousands of personal injury cases about turnout gear are already in the foam case. Those cases also claim harm from the foam. The panel said it will keep sending cases that raise both foam and gear claims to the foam case.

To keep the two apart, the panel added the words Non-AFFF to the new group's name. The two judges can coordinate where the cases overlap. If you used foam and also wore gear, a lawyer can tell you which court fits your claim.

What does it cost to get help?

Find out up front whether the lawyer charges anything to look at your case. Under the ABA model ethics rule, a fee that depends on the outcome must be in a writing you sign. That writing should explain how the fee and expenses are worked out.

Your doctor's office may charge a fair cost to copy and mail your records. Federal privacy guidance says it may not charge a fee to search for them.

What should I do today?

Keep up with your own medical care. Ask your doctor what checkups make sense for you, since a lawsuit is not medical advice.

Write down where and when you served, your roles, and what gear you were issued. Note any time you used firefighting foam, because that can change which court hears a claim.

NIOSH, the federal job safety agency, runs the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer. Any U.S. firefighter can join, with or without cancer, including volunteers and retirees. Joining is voluntary, and it is a research study, not a legal claim.

What happens after I check?

Expect questions about your service, your gear, any foam use and your diagnosis. Ask which court would hear your claim: the gear case in Minnesota, the foam case in South Carolina, or a state court. Ask for the fee terms in writing, and read them before you agree.

Workers' compensation and state firefighter cancer laws are separate from these lawsuits. For example, Massachusetts presumes that certain cancers in paid firefighters were suffered in the line of duty for disability retirement, with conditions. An attorney can check whether a law like this applies to you.

What is the evidence that PFAS in gear causes cancer?

No court has decided that PFAS in turnout gear caused anyone's cancer. The evidence so far shows the chemicals are in gear and that firefighting is linked to cancer. It does not show what caused any one person's illness.

In 2023, researchers at NIST, a federal science agency, tested 20 fabrics used to make new turnout gear. Each fabric had at least one of the PFAS they looked for, and outer shell and moisture barrier layers had the most. The study measured fabric, not how much PFAS gets into a firefighter's body. The authors said more research is needed on used gear and on how PFAS moves into firefighters.

In 2022, IARC, the World Health Organization's cancer agency, found that firefighting work causes cancer. It said firefighting causes mesothelioma and bladder cancer, with limited evidence for colon, prostate and testicular cancer, skin melanoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. That review covered all firefighting exposures, such as smoke, foam chemicals and diesel exhaust, not gear alone.

In 2023, IARC put PFOA, one PFAS chemical, in its highest cancer-hazard group, and PFOS in a lower group. The human evidence for PFOA was limited and involved kidney and testicular cancer. IARC says its groups show how strong the evidence is, not how much risk a given exposure carries.

NIOSH says cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters. It also says research shows firefighting can raise the risk of certain cancers.