Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuits

It is not too late to file a Camp Lejeune claim: you have until August 10, 2024. Even if you currently receive VA benefits, you may be eligible for compensation.

The U.S. Justice Department, in a court filing in late October 2023, announced compensation claims now total nearly $3.3 trillion. Federal legislation passed acknowledges water contamination and removes some of the earlier roadblocks for compensation by allowing those injured to sue the government. Our mass tort attorneys can assess your claim and explain how to file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit.

The History of the Toxic Water at Camp Lejeune

The federal government estimates that a million people were engaged in military service and lived on the Camp Lejeune Marine base between 1953 and 1987. The toxic water they drank and bathed in was tainted with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other cancer-causing chemicals. Some diseases linked to the chemicals include:

• Cancer of the bladder, kidney, and breast
• Leukemia
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Female reproductive issues such as infertility and miscarriage
• Neurobehavioral illnesses, especially Parkinson’s Disease, with a rate 70 percent higher at Camp Lejeune than on any other U.S. military base

Records show The Marine Corps was made aware of the contaminated water in the early 1980s, but did not immediately shut down the contaminated wells. When they were finally shut down, they were soon inexplicably reopened. The Marine Corps did not contact Veterans and other workers about their exposure until 1999.

In 2008, Congress directed the Marine Corps to contact those exposed and explain the actual risk from consuming and bathing in the tainted water. By then, many of the people exposed were suffering from conditions caused by Camp Lejeune’s water, although they had not connected the diseases with the military base before being notified.

What Claimants Need to Show

To recover in a toxic water lawsuit, claimants must have spent at least 30 days at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina as a Veteran, family member, or base worker between 1953 and 1987. The harm they suffered must be provable and related to a condition known to be caused by the toxic water. In-utero exposure also counts.

Mass Tort Action

As of October 2023, more than 117,000 people exposed to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water have filed lawsuits in what is predicted to be the largest mass tort claim in U.S. history. Currently, claims that languished are set to be honored through an early resolution program, while others will go to trial beginning in 2024.

Even when a claimant lives in Indiana, federal legislation says that all Camp Lejeune contaminated water lawsuits must be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina by August 10, 2024.

Before following through with a lawsuit, claimants must notify the Navy’s Tort Claims Unit (TCU). This consolidation streamlines the process, but it does not diminish the amount of compensation a claimant can receive, because each case retains autonomy in a mass tort action. Class action lawsuits, by contrast, lump all cases together and any recovery is split evenly between the plaintiffs. Camp Lejeune lawsuits are not a class action.

Talk to an Attorney About Your Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit

The Marine Corps was negligent in allowing Veterans and their families living on base at Camp Lejeune to be exposed to toxic water.

You should, and can, be compensated if you later suffered any of the recognized conditions, such as cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, and miscarriage(s). Our attorneys represent you in all aspects of the claim, from notifying the Navy to securing the compensation. Call our team to schedule a consultation.