People's Justice

Florida · PFAS in Water: What to Check

PFAS in Water: What to Check in Florida

See If You Qualify

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Updated

01 · Your filing deadline

What is the deadline in Florida?

Florida has a 4-year statute of limitations for product liability claims with the discovery rule — one of the most favorable in the nation for PFAS claimants. A lawyer can confirm yours.

4 years from discovery of injury and PFAS connection

Deadlines vary; a lawyer can confirm yours. An older diagnosis or a past filing window does not, by itself, establish whether you have a claim.

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A lawyer can check which filing rules apply to your circumstances.

02 · Where cases are heard

Where would my case be heard?

Florida has some of the most significant military PFAS contamination in the Southeast, centered on NAS Pensacola, Eglin Air Force Base, Tyndall AFB, and MacDill AFB in Tampa. Pensacola-area residents and military families are among the most exposed populations in the Southeast. Florida's 4-year product liability statute of limitations is one of the most favorable in the nation for PFAS claimants.

Federal PFAS litigation is centralized in MDL 2873 (In re: AFFF Products Liability Litigation) in the District of South Carolina (Charleston) before Judge Richard M. Gergel. Florida has among the highest concentrations of MDL plaintiff filings due to extensive military AFFF use at Tyndall AFB, Eglin AFB, NAS Pensacola, and Patrick Space Force Base. Florida plaintiffs file directly into MDL 2873.

Florida water utilities receiving contaminated supply from proximity to AFFF-using bases — including the City of Pensacola and Okaloosa County utilities — are eligible class participants.

Florida's statute of limitations for personal injury toxic tort claims is 4 years under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(d) where the claim is founded on the design, manufacture, distribution, or sale of a product (general negligence was reduced from 4 to 2 years in 2023, § 95.11(5)(a)). The latent disease discovery rule under Fla. Stat. § 95.031(2) tolls limitations until the plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury and PFAS connection.

Florida's most heavily contaminated PFAS sites include: Tyndall AFB (Panama City Beach area), Eglin AFB and Duke Field (Okaloosa County), NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field (Escambia/Santa Rosa Counties), Patrick Space Force Base (Brevard County), MacDill AFB (Tampa Bay). Florida DEP has ordered PFAS remediation at multiple sites and found PFAS exceedances in municipal water supplies near these installations.

How this works nationally

For the overall process and updates, read the PFAS in Water: What to Check overview. This page covers the local information available for Florida.

What happens when I check?

You answer a few short questions about what happened. If you send them, your answers are kept on file. If a participating law firm takes these cases, it may contact you. People's Justice is not a law firm.

Live in Florida? Read what applies in your state.

Register your interest. If a participating law firm takes these cases, it may contact you.

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