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North Carolina · PFAS in Water: What to Check

PFAS in Water: What to Check in North Carolina

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Filing deadline3 years from discovery of injury and PFAS connectionN.C.G.S. § 1-52

Deadlines vary with the facts of each case. A lawyer can confirm yours.

Updated

01 · Your filing deadline

What is the deadline in North Carolina?

North Carolina has a 3-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims from the date of discovery under N.C.G.S. § 1-52. A lawyer can confirm yours.

3 years from discovery of injury and PFAS connection

Source: N.C.G.S. § 1-52

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?

North Carolina is a top-priority PFAS litigation state with two distinct contamination sources: Chemours' Fayetteville Works facility on the Cape Fear River (GenX contamination of the Wilmington area's water supply) and multiple military installations including Camp Lejeune, Pope Field, and Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). North Carolina's 3-year statute of limitations is relatively favorable.

Federal PFAS claims are centralized in MDL 2873 (In re: AFFF Products Liability Litigation) in the District of South Carolina (Charleston) before Judge Richard M. Gergel — directly adjacent to North Carolina. NC plaintiffs file into MDL 2873 for coordinated proceedings. North Carolina is also ground zero for GenX (HFPO-DA) PFAS contamination from the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant on the Cape Fear River — one of the most significant industrial PFAS contamination cases in U.S. history.

Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), serving Wilmington and New Hanover County, has been among the most prominent water utility PFAS plaintiffs nationally. Separately, Chemours agreed to fund GenX remediation in NC under a 2022 consent order with NC DEQ.

North Carolina's statute of limitations for personal injury is 3 years under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16). NC applies a discovery rule for latent disease claims (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16)) — limitations runs from when the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known of the injury and its PFAS cause. North Carolina also enacted the PFAS Public Health Study Act (2019) and has pursued PFAS accountability through the NC Department of Justice.

North Carolina has among the nation's most documented PFAS contamination: Chemours Fayetteville Works (Bladen County — Cape Fear River GenX contamination affecting Wilmington and downstream communities), Camp Lejeune (Jacksonville — separate PFAS/solvent contamination; also subject to PACT Act claims), Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point (Craven County), Seymour Johnson AFB (Goldsboro, Wayne County), Pope Army Airfield (Cumberland County), and agricultural PFAS biosolids contamination in the Duplin and Sampson County hog farming regions.

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 North Carolina.

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 North Carolina? 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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Sources

  1. N.C.G.S. § 1-52