Exposure to Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune
Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022
Congress recently passed a bill that clears the way for many veterans and their families who were stationed at the Camp Lejeune military base in North Carolina to seek compensation for medical conditions likely caused by contaminated water.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 eliminates a legal barrier prohibiting these victims from suing the government for benefits related to the illnesses related to the toxic water exposures at Camp Lejeune. The Act is under the umbrella of the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022.
Toxins in water likely to blame for multiple health problems
Exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during a 30-year period is blamed for various health conditions, including several types of cancer, fertility problems, Parkinson’s disease, and more. Victims were exposed to the contaminated water by drinking it, cooking with it, cleaning with it, or bathing in it. It’s estimated that approximately 1 million people have been exposed to toxic water.
Studies determined the water treated and distributed throughout Camp Lejeune was contaminated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at up to 280 times the standard safety level, which reached the water supply via leaking storage tanks and nearby industrial activities. Over 70 different chemicals have been identified in the water but the biggest offenders seem to be trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride, toluene, and benzene.
Veterans and their families may be eligible for compensation.
Those eligible to file a claim include veterans and civilians who lived, served, and/or worked at Camp Lejeune or Marine Corps Air Station New River (MCAS) between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, at least 30 days total. These potential claimants have been diagnosed with illnesses presumed to be caused by contaminated water on the base (these are called “presumptive conditions”).
Presumptive conditions include:
- Adult leukemia
- Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
Veterans, as well as their caretakers, spouses, children, and those in charge of a deceased victim’s estate, may also be eligible to receive compensation for out-of-pocket health care costs for these conditions:
- Esophageal cancer
- Breast cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Renal toxicity
- Female infertility
- Scleroderma
- Hodgkin’s and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Leukemia
- Aplastic anemia
- Lung cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Liver cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Rectal cancer
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Hepatic steatosis
- Miscarriage
- Neurobehavioral effects
- Parkinson’s disease
- Cervical cancer
- Lung cancer
We advocate for veterans and their families.
Our PACT Act team, led by Marine veteran Tim Mercer and Allison Sullivan will work to help you and your loved ones receive the benefits you’re entitled to. If you have questions or concerns about the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 or the PACT Act of 2022, please call us at 877-524-4675 as soon as possible.
