We’ve written before about Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and the effects of the contaminated water on servicemen and their families.
We have a quick update to share with you today regarding Camp Lejeune — the VA has officially established presumptions for the service connection of eight diseases associated with exposure to the contaminants in the water supply.
Dr. David J. Shulkin, who recently took over as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, believes that taking action to establish these presumption will help to reinforce the VA’s commitment to current and former servicemembers and their families.
“The Camp Lejeune presumptions will make it easier for those Veterans [affected by the contaminated water] to receive the care and benefits they earned,” said Dr. Shulkin in a statement on the VA blog.
The presumption of service connection applies to active duty, Reserve, and National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 (cumulative) days between August 1st, 1953 and December 31st, 1987, who have been diagnosed with any of the following conditions:
- adult leukemia
- aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- bladder cancer
- kidney cancer
- liver cancer
- multiple myeloma
- non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
For more information on Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water and its long-term effects, you can read an earlier blog we wrote here.
The VA is not just including the area of Camp Lejeune itself in these presumptions, but also MCAS New River, including satellite camps and housing areas.
While many service-connected conditions already covered through the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 are listed here, this new presumption will complement that care and help to expand it.
While the Camp Lejeune Act requires the VA to provide health care to Veterans who served at Camp Lejeune suffering from any of the listed service-connected conditions, it also requires the VA to reimburse family members or pay providers for covered medical expenses for those who resided there during the previously mentioned dates.
At Bluestein Attorneys, we take our Veterans and the service they have provided our country very seriously. Our SC Veterans Advocates team is made up of former servicemembers themselves who understand the unique life that military service members and their families live.
Whether you’re seeking to appeal a reduction in VA Disability benefits or you’re seeking help for traumatic brain injuries, PTSD (including PTSD without seeing combat), and other VA Disability claims, we are here to help.
Call us at (803) 779-7599 or contact our Veterans Advocates team online to request your FREE consultation.
