NJ Woman Suffered Physical and Developmental Defects Due to PFAS Exposure, Lawsuit Alleges

According to allegations raised in a new product liability lawsuit filed in a federal court in New Jersey, exposure to toxic chemicals from a nearby plastics factory in utero and throughout childhood caused a young woman to suffer from physical and developmental defects. The complaint was filed on January 8, by Carly Corrar and her mother, Shirley Bond, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, against Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC; Solvay Solexis, Inc.; Arkema, Inc.; E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Company; The Chemours Company, The 3M Company and other unnamed defendants. If you or someone you love has suffered a medical condition allegedly caused by exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in contaminated drinking water or some other source, contact us today to find out if you are eligible to file a claim against the facility or chemical manufacturing company.

Health Risks of PFAS Exposure

PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals that have been manufactured in the United States and widely used in a variety of industries since the 1940s. The most extensively produced of the PFAS chemicals are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), both of which are persistent in the environment and the human body. This means the chemicals do not break down and can accumulate over time, possibly leading to adverse health effects. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PFAS can be found in commercial household products, such as waxes, polishes, nonstick cooking products, paints, and cleaning products. They are also commonly used in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs), or firefighting foams, which have been used by the military, at commercial airports and in fire training activities across the U.S. for decades.

The manufacture of PFAS has decreased significantly in the U.S. due to efforts by the EPA to phase out the chemicals beginning in 2000. However, PFAS are known as “forever” chemicals, which means they do not fully degrade in the environment. Because of their prevalence and persistence in the environment, experts indicate that PFAS can be found in the blood of most people in the U.S. and other industrialized countries and can build up over time with repeated exposure, thereby increasing the risk of harmful health effects. A large number of studies have linked exposure to PFAS to several different types of cancer, including testicular cancer, bladder cancer and kidney cancer, and the chemicals may also increase cholesterol levels, cause decreases in infant birth weights, increase the risk of high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, or cause changes in liver enzymes.

Toxic PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

The EPA warns that food and drinking water can also be a source of PFAS exposure in communities located near facilities where the chemicals were produced or used to manufacture other products, such as military bases, commercial airports, firefighting training facilities or industrial facilities. PFAS released into the environment by these types of facilities can contaminate water supplies and put those exposed at risk for serious adverse health effects. This latest PFAS exposure lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff, 24-year-old Carly Corrar, was exposed to PFAS in utero and throughout her childhood due to her family’s proximity to chemical manufacturing plants owned and operated by the defendants in Pennsville Township, Carneys Point Township and West Deptford, New Jersey.

Corrar’s lawsuit indicates that the facilities near where she grew up released “massive amounts” of PFAS into the environment, contaminating the air, soil, and water. As a result of Corrar’s continued exposure to PFAS during her youth, she has suffered from a wide array of “profound and permanent personal injuries,” including physical and cognitive developmental delays, a functional neurological disorder, digestive conditions, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), joint issues and other problems, the lawsuit alleges. These significant injuries “were foreseeably caused by Defendants’ misconduct, including their intentional manufacturing, use, discharge, and/or disposal of toxic and dangerous chemicals and substances,” the complaint states, and have caused Corrar to experience profound pain and suffering and mental anguish, and a loss of the ability to enjoy her life.

Learn More About Filing a PFAS Exposure Lawsuit

Corrar’s complaint joins a growing number of lawsuits brought against Du Pont, Chemours, 3M and other companies that manufacture and use PFAS, by plaintiffs who allege that they were exposed to the toxic chemicals from contaminated soil or water supplies. Hundreds of other PFAS lawsuits have been filed by former firefighters diagnosed with cancer who were routinely exposed to PFAS in firefighting foams used during fire suppression activities and firefighter training exercises. These complaints all involve similar allegations that the companies that manufactured AFFF and sold it for use by military and civilian firefighters knew that the chemicals used in the foam could have an adverse effect on human health and the environment, yet failed to disclose this risk. To learn more about pursuing financial compensation for cancer and other serious injuries allegedly caused by exposure to PFAS chemicals, call Consumer Safety Watch today.