Defense and plaintiff attorneys rarely agree on matters of a billion-dollar scale. When it comes to “forever chemicals,” however, both sides concede that the human and environmental cost could be astronomical. In the realm of PFAS (poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances) litigation, all bets are off.

But being on the same side might end there. Defendants are facing a joint effort by plaintiff firms and state attorneys general in suits with so much in potential damages that some wonder whether a bailout fund akin to what the automobile industry saw will be necessary for those facing PFAS liability.