Camp Lejeune Lawsuit News and Updates

February 14, 2024 – Jury Trials

I think it is fair to say the court’s ruling that there will not be jury trials in this litigation is an unfortunate development.

But there is an upside. Bench trials can go very quickly. We may have multiple trials a week in four different courts.  Verdicts put pressure on defendants. If these four judges are fair and award reasonable compensation when warranted, getting many verdicts will pressure the government. Hopefully, this will speed up the path to a better, more inclusive, and more lucrative global settlement offer for Lejeune victims.

February 12, 2024 – Status Conference

The next status conference is set for March 5, 2024.

February 7, 2024 – Muster Rolls and Water Modeling Files

The DOJ continues to act like a corporate defendant, fighting plaintiffs at every turn.  There are two battles over documents that have not found a resolution.

The first is the water modeling files at Camp Lejeune. These are the documents, data, and analyses related to modeling water movement and contamination within the base’s water supply system. These models are created to understand how toxic substances identified in Camp Lejeune’s water supply between the 1950s and 1980s migrated and dispersed throughout the water distribution network over time.

The second issue is muster rolls.  At Lejeune and every other military base, muster rolls at Camp Lejeune, as well as at other military bases, serve as official records documenting the attendance, absence, or different statuses of military personnel stationed there.

The government wants you to tell them the exact date the plaintiff was Lejeune. But that is not always or even usually in the military records.  The muster rolls solve that problem.  Just be transparent and produce these records.

February 6, 2024 – No Camp Lejeune Jury Trials

We got our second lousy ruling in the Camp Lejeune litigation today. This one is a big deal.

The court ruled that the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (CLJA) does not provide plaintiffs the right to a jury trial for actions seeking relief under the Act. Despite the CLJA allowing individuals exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune to bring actions in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the court determined that Congress did not depart from its usual practice of not permitting jury trials against the United States.

The judges believe that CLJA’s text and the principles of sovereign immunity guided the decision, as the Act did not explicitly, affirmatively, and unambiguously grant a right to a jury trial.

The problem with this argument is that the second sentence of subsection 804(d) of the CLJA states that nothing shall impair the right to a jury trial. Please explain to me why they would mention protecting the right to a jury trial if there cannot be a jury trial.

But the court ruled that this unambiguous provision does not to establish a new right to a jury trial but to ensure that the Act does not affect any existing right outside of its provisions.

How about an appeal? That will just slow the process for victims who do not want to wait.

The upside?  Faster trials will equal a faster path to a global settlement.  And I do think they judges are poised to award millions of dollars if the case warrants such a verdict.

February 3, 2024 – Track One Order

The court has issued an order setting out the steps and deadlines for the Track 1 Discovery Pool – bladder cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Parkinson’s disease.  The April trial date the court floated last month is out the window with this order, unfortunately,

Here’s a breakdown of what’s going to happen:

1. Discovery Phase:
   • The plaintiffs have 45 days from the order to submit detailed information about their cases.
   • Both sides have 135 days to exchange all the facts and evidence related to these cases. After this fact-finding period, the plaintiffs and then the government will have set times to tell each other about their expert witnesses
2. Motions Before Trial: Once all the information about expert witnesses is exchanged, there’s a 30-day period to file any motions that could decide the case without a trial.
3. Planning for Settlement or Trial: The court plans to talk about settlement options through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and, most importantly for plaintiffs, plans for some of these cases to go to trial as example cases in 2024.
4. Trial Details: Each judge involved will handle the specifics for the Lejeune suits they’re overseeing, and any unique decisions for a case will take priority over this general order. In order words, the judges is how we will do it… unless we change our minds.

This order organizes how the cases will proceed, focusing on gathering and sharing evidence, deciding on expert witnesses, and preparing for possible trials or settlements.

February 2, 2024 – ATSDR Study

The ATSDR study we have been talking about was finally released.  The study found that between 1975 and 1985, military personnel at Camp Lejeune were more likely to develop certain cancers compared to those stationed elsewhere. No surprise.

Let’s break down some of the study’s statistics, focusing on the increased incidence rates of certain cancers at Camp Lejeune compared to Camp Pendleton.

The study discusses “hazard ratios” (HRs) and “confidence intervals” (CIs). These indicate how much more likely people at Camp Lejeune were to develop certain cancers compared to those at Camp Pendleton and how confident the researchers are in these findings.

For example, if a hazard ratio (HR) is 1.38 for acute myeloid leukemia, it means that people at Camp Lejeune were 38% more likely to develop this type of cancer than people at Camp Pendleton. The 95% confidence interval” gives a range (like 1.03 to 1.85) that the true hazard ratio is likely to fall within. If this range doesn’t include 1, it suggests the finding is statistically significant – in other words, it’s unlikely to be due to chance.

Here’s what the increased rates looked like for specific cancers at Camp Lejeune:

• Acute myeloid leukemia: 38% more likely
• All myeloid cancers (including polycythemia vera): 24% more likely
• Myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative syndromes: 68% more likely
• Cancers of the esophagus: 27% more likely
• Cancers of the larynx: 21% more likely
• Soft tissue cancers: 21% more likely
• Thyroid cancer: 22% more likely

For civilian workers at Camp Lejeune, the increased rates were:

• All myeloid cancers: 40% more likely
• Squamous cell lung cancer: 63% more likely
• Female ductal breast cancer: 32% more likely

This means that both military personnel and civilian workers at Camp Lejeune had a higher chance of getting these cancers compared to those at Camp Pendleton, where the water was not contaminated. The percentages give an idea of how much higher the risk was.

We told you that more cancers will be in focus after the study. Certainly, this new information will lead to more thyroid cancer lawsuits from Lejeune which was not really on the radar for most Camp Lejeune lawyers.

What kind of cancers are now in play that might not have been before, at least with some Camp Lejeune lawyers?  There are five that come to mind:

1. Colon cancer
2. Laryngeal Cancer
3. Lung Cancer
4. Pharyngeal cancer
5. Thyroid cancer

February 1, 2024 – Summary Judgment Motion

Judge Myers is giving the government until February 19, 2024, to respond to the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment discussed in our January 26 and 30 updates below.

January 31, 2024 – Case Count Update

There are 1,492 Camp Lejeune lawsuits pending.  The administrative count is up to 164,136.

People were predicting over 500,000 claims.  Our lawyers projected 150,000 from the beginning.  Our revised prediction is there are less than 200,000 claims.  What we do not know is how many of these claims are viable. Certainly most claims but not all will be compensable.

January 30, 2024 – The Push to Trial

The government wants more time to respond to plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. Attorneys for Camp Lejeune victims are challenging the government’s request.

Previously, the attorneys have agreed to extensions requested by the government on other deadlines.  But plaintiffs’ lawyers say we just cannot delay any longer.  Trials are coming soon – as early as April – and we have to get these cases ready for trial. So professional courtesies have to take a backseat.

January 23, 2024 – Speed Up Litigation Plan

Camp Lejeune attorneys asked the court yesterday to consolidate sixteen toxic water lawsuits based on disease type for trial. This efficient docket management approach would allow the Court to resolve all Track 1 cases with just five trials, reducing the burden on the Court’s calendar and expediting proceedings.

Plaintiffs also gave a length of trial estimate for each type of Track 1 claim:

Expect the government to push back hard on this request.  Consolidated cases will lead to more significant verdicts and more media attention, and the DOJ would rather lay as low as possible in this litigation. [Update: With the jury trial ruling discussed in later updates, the estimated days of trial are now much shorter.]

January 21, 2024 – Push Forward

In many mass torts, the defendants delay, delay, delay, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers are silent co-conspirators, not holding defense attorneys’ feet to the fire to push the litigation forward to get victims the compensation they deserve.

That is not happening in the Camp Lejeune litigation. Attorneys for Lejeune victims are holding the government’s feet to the fire at every turn.  In the latest skirmish, plaintiffs’ lawyers are pushing back on the DOJ’s proposal to extend the Track 1 deadline for factual discovery by an additional 90 days.

The plaintiffs’ response points out that in establishing Case Management Order 2, the judges aimed for a swift and efficient discovery process, mainly to handle the expected influx of CLJA cases. Plaintiffs also point out that the necessity for such an extension has become irrelevant. For example, the government’s primary justification for seeking more time was the alleged extensive nature of the plaintiffs’ electronic data requests. However, the plaintiffs have since retracted these requests.

The faster this process moves forward, the longer it will take for the government to offer more global and reasonable Camp Lejeune settlement compensation.

January 18, 2024 – ATSDR Report… Finally

The government plans to release the 2023 ATSDR Cancer Incidence Study publicly this month. Attorneys for Camp Lejeune are retracting their appeal of the order denying the motion to compel this report.

We discuss this report more in the December 22 update below. It could be a good source of evidence for plaintiffs with Tier 2 and Tier 3 claims.

January 17, 2024 – Camp Lejeune Settlement Update

As of yesterday, the DOJ has identified thirty-seven cases in litigation that qualify for the Elective Option (EO) based on document verification.  The DOJ is also relying on the Navy and has made 52 more offers. All told, we have thirteen Camp Lejeune settlements out of 89 total offers.

Here is how that looks:

Injury	Number Accepted	Total Payments	Average Settlement
Bladder Cancer	4	$750,000	$197,500
Kidney Cancer	1	$300,000	$300,000
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma	1	$300,000	$300,000
Kidney Disease	1	$100,000	$100,000
Parkinson’s Disease	2	$650,000	$325,000
Multiple Myeloma	0	$0	$0
Leukemia	4	$1,050,000	$262,500
Total	13	$3,150,000	$242,308

The sample size is small. But we will keep an eye on these numbers as we move forward.

For context, the Navy has now settled 13 claims out of the 158,252 claims that have been brought.  So we are .008215% of the way to resolution.  Again, there has to be a path to speed up this process.

• Get more Camp Lejeune updates that go all the way back to the very beginning

How Camp Lejeune Lawsuits Work

The CLJA gives individuals (or their survivors) who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days the right to file civil lawsuits in the Eastern District of North Carolina to seek damages for injuries allegedly caused by the contaminated water. Before filing their lawsuit, however, § (h) of the CLJA requires all claimants to go through a 6-month administrative claim process:

(h) Disposition By Federal Agency Required.- An individual may not bring an action under this section before complying with section 2675 of title 28, United States Code.

Before filing a Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuit, a prospective plaintiff must submit their claim to the “appropriate federal agency.” Once a claim is submitted, the federal agency has a strict 6-month deadline to either accept or deny the claim. Claimants must wait until their claim is rejected or the 6-month deadline expires before filing their lawsuit in federal court.

This administrative claim process is a formality in most regular lawsuits against the Navy. Administrative claims are almost always denied, and the claimants move on to file suit. For Camp Lejeune claims under the CLJA, however, the process could be much different.

Under the CLJA, we believe that at the administrative claims process may be more like a pre-filing settlement mediation in which claimants who pass an initial screening process receive very reasonable settlement offers. We expect many claimants will accept settlement offers during the administrative claim process and never end up filing civil lawsuits.

Our lawyers expect the CLJA administrative claim process to play out this way for two reasons. First, Congress passed the CLJA to ensure that victims of the Lejeune water contamination could get financial compensation for valid injuries. Second, the Biden administration will ultimately be responsible for how this plays out. President Biden has made it clear that he strongly supports compensating deserving veterans.

Who Will the “Appropriate Federal Agency” Be for CLJA Claims?

Under the FTCA, administrative claims must be submitted to the “appropriate federal agency.” Camp Lejeune is not a Federal Tort Claims Act or Military Claims Act lawsuit, but there are similarities.

For Camp Lejeune water contamination claims under the CLJA, the appropriate federal agency will be the Department of the Navy (Navy). The Navy was the agency responsible for the USMC base at Camp Lejeune.

Although the Navy will be the federal agency named in the claim, they will most likely defer to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on handling these suits. The DOJ will take its direction on approaching the CLJA claims from the Biden Administration.

New Law to Allow Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

From 1953 to 1987, the public water supply at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina was contaminated with toxic chemicals. So for 30 years, more than a million Marines and their families drank and bathed in contaminated water.

Thousands of Marines and their families have suffered severe illnesses and have died. There is strong scientific evidence that chronic exposure to toxic chemicals in Camp Lejeune’s water has caused increased rates of cancer and has caused injuries to children in utero.

Camp Lejeune Compensation Claims Originally Rejected

The provision follows the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision in 2014 holding that North Carolina’s 10-year “statute of repose” overrides the federal Superfund law, effectively barring exposed individuals from suing once the statute expires, even if they didn’t become aware of pollution until a later date.

A new federal law – the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 – was enacted for victims of Camp Lejeune water contamination to seek legal compensation. The Act permits people who lived, worked, or were harmed as unborn children at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 to file a toxic water lawsuit in US District Court in Eastern North Carolina. There will likely be a two-year deadline to sue from the date of the enactment.

Victims may now be able to file a claim and get a Camp Lejeune settlement payout or jury award for the harm that has been done to them if they lived or worked near Camp Lejeune between 1953 and the late 1980s and were diagnosed with cancer or neurologic disorders.

This new Camp Lejeune lawsuit is a “sort of” class action lawsuit in North Carolina. Why “sort of”?  All cases to be housed in North Carolina, even if the victims now live in California, Texas, New York, or any other state, and the litigation has many features of a class action lawsuit without technically being class action. This includes Camp Lejeune attorneys in the leadership group getting a piece of every settlement.

If you want compensation for the harm done at Camp Lejeune, contact our lawyers and tell us about your claim today.

Water Contamination at Camp Lejeune

Camp Lejeune is a massive Marine Corps base and military training facility that covers nearly 250 square miles in Onslow County, North Carolina. Camp Lejeune was first opened in 1942. It is used as a base of operations for the Marine Corps and a military operations and training facility used by various branches of the armed forces.

Since its founding in 1942, Camp Lejeune has been a temporary or permanent home for thousands of military service members and their families.

It has also been a home or place of work for thousands more civilian employees and contractors. Camp Lejeune had its own public water system to supply these Marines and civilians with potable water.

In the 1980s, environmental testing at Camp Lejeune discovered that the water supply for its residents and employees was dangerously contaminated.

Toxic Chemicals in Water

Specifically, the Marine Corps determined that from approximately 1953 through 1987, the water supply to Camp Lejeune had been heavily contaminated with volatile organic compounds and carcinogenic chemicals. The most troubling chemicals found were trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE).

These chemicals are in a class of chemicals called “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs). These chemicals are used for dry cleaning, and much of the water contamination was attributed to an off-base dry cleaner that existed before the Marine base was opened. So the water wells were likely contaminated before Camp Lejeune opened.

However, this toxic water came from multiple sources. The same chemicals are also used to clean machinery and weapons, so the contamination came from on and off the Marine base.

Core Issue in Every Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

Every Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit will allege that the water supply at Camp Lejeune was contaminated between the 1960s and 1980s. The lawsuit will also claim that the United States negligently caused injury or death by allowing contaminants into the Camp Lejeune water supply and not warning people when they should know these water issues could cause awful side effects that included death.

What Toxic Chemicals Were in the Camp Lejeune Water Supply?

Two specific chemical compounds contaminated the water supply at Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987, and they came from two specific water treatment facilities servicing the base: Perchloroethylene (PCE) and Trichloroethylene (TCE).

PCE Caused the Greatest Harm

PCE was the most significant cause of the water contamination and the injuries and deaths that followed at Camp Lejeune. PCE is a clear liquid chemical used in dry cleaning to clean fabrics.

PCE is absorbed following oral, inhalation, and dermal exposures. It travels through the bloodstream to the lungs. PCE targets the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys and accumulates in fat cells. Tetrachloroethylene also crosses the placenta and distributes it to the fetus, which is why there were so many birth defects at Camp Lejeune.

PCE Related Injuries

The evidence is strong that PCE can cause various disorders, including liver and kidney injuries, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Learn more about Camp Lejeune diseases.

PCE Levels at Tarawa Terrance Water Treatment Were Off the Charts

For 346 months, the Tarawa Terrance water treatment and supply facility at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with dangerously high levels of PCE. The source of the contamination was identified as a nearby dry cleaning company. The EPA’s maximum safe level for PCE in drinking water is five ug/L. The peak level of TCE contamination in 1985 in the Camp Lejeune water supply was 215 ug/L.

Digest that number. That is 43 times – 43 times! – the safe level for TCE. It is a wonder there were not more Camp Lejeune water contamination deaths and injuries than have been reported.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) at Hadnot Point Water Treatment Facility

TCE is an industrial chemical that is used in the manufacturing of refrigerants and other hydrofluorocarbons. It is a harmful chemical that has long been known to be unfit for human consumption. TCE has been used as a solvent and fumigant to kill insects.

The body absorbs trichloroethylene most from inhalation and through oral and dermal exposure. The bloodstream pushes this chemical to major organs that receive blood and deposit it in fat cells. The body metabolizes TCE mainly in the liver, kidneys, and lungs.   Humans extensively metabolize inhaled doses of trichloroethylene. Metabolites may play a role in the adverse health effects described in studies.

TCE was also commonly used as a solvent and degreaser on metal military equipment. The Hadnot Point water treatment facility servicing Camp Lejeune was found to be highly contaminated with TCE. The contamination is believed to have come from numerous sources. EPA’s maximum safe level for TCE in potable water is five ppb. The Camp Lejeune water supply was contaminated with TCE as high as 1,400 ppb.

Heart Defects at Birth from TCE

With newborn children, congenital heart defects are common in mothers who drank and bathed in the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. Studies strongly suggest a link between a mother’s exposure to TCE during pregnancy and congenital heart defects.

Other Toxic Chemicals in the Camp’s Well Water

Mercury

In 2012, the Hadnot Point water facility was also contaminated with mercury. Mercury may have come from water pressure meters at the facility that was removed in the 1980s.

Vinyl Chloride and Benzene

These were not the only toxic chemicals found on the base. Vinyl chloride and ne, poisonous chemicals that can cause many of these same injuries alone, were also found on the base. The fact that these toxic chemicals in the water supply are treated as a footnote underscores the remarkable stew of tragic mistakes that caused harm to so many Marines and their families. This is why Congress is stepping in with the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (our attorneys discuss this further below).

Everyone Agrees the Water at Camp Lejeune Was Contaminated

The government will unlikely dispute these facts in a Camp Lejeune lawsuit. In 1989, the EPA placed Camp Lejeune on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”) National Priorities List for environmental cleanup activities. You may have also heard it is called a “Superfund” site.   A Superfund is a euphemism for toxic mess. The US Navy agreed to work with the EPA in environmental remediation efforts that continue to this day.

Chemicals in Camp Lejeune Water-Linked to Cancer

The industrial chemicals that were contaminating the Camp Lejeune water supply are known to be very toxic to the human body and have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and neurologic disorders. Scientific and medical evidence has shown that chronic exposure to the chemicals TCE and PCE can cause increased rates of certain types of cancer.

The types of cancer that have been scientifically linked to the consumption of harmful chemicals contaminating the water at Camp Lejeune include:

• Leukemia
• Bladder cancer
• Brain cancer
• Breast cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Liver cancer
• Lung cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Aplastic anemia
• Myelodysplastic syndrome
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Ovarian cancer
• Cervical cancer

Exposure to these chemicals has also been linked to other health conditions, including aplastic anemia (and other myelodysplastic syndromes) and neurologic disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

Non-Cancer Camp Lejeune Injuries

The science and medical evidence continues to build links to other injuries besides cancer. They include:

• Infertility and Miscarriage
• Birth Defects
• Birth Injuries
• Brain Injuries
• Cardiac Defects
• Fatty Liver Disease
• Neurobehavioral Effects
• Plastic anemia and other bone marrow conditions
• Renal Toxicity
• Scleroderma
• Hepatic Steatosis
• ALS (Lou Gerhrig’s Disease)
• Parkinson’s Disease

Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune Caused Birth Defects

Birth defects are one of the big tragedies of Camp Lejeune. Over the years, thousands of pregnant women were exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune. In 2013, the CDC released a study that confirmed that children born to mothers who lived on Camp Lejeune or drank the water supply had four times the rate of birth defects such as spina bifida.

The CDC also indicated that children exposed to the contaminated Camp Lejeune water during fetal gestation had an increased risk of developing childhood cancers like leukemia. These same children may also have a higher risk of adult cancer.

Camp Lejeune Victims Can Now Get Compensation

The water contamination at Camp Lejeune has negatively impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who lived or worked at the base over the years. Many people have developed cancer, died, and suffered other diseases.

So far, most of the Camp Lejeune water contamination victims have never been able to get justice or compensation. North Carolina (where the base is located) has a law known as a “statute of repose,” which puts a maximum year limit on how long someone can wait before filing a civil lawsuit, even if they could never have known that the water issues caused injuries until after the deadline to sue had already passed.

Victims Could Not Bring a Camp Lejeune Lawsuit Under the Old Law

Under North Carolina’s statute of repose, no civil tort lawsuit can be filed after more than ten years. This law has effectively blocked Camp Lejeune victims from bringing lawsuits seeking financial compensation. In 2016, multi-district litigation involving 850 former Camp Lejeune residents (Straw v. the United States) was dismissed based on the North Carolina repose statute.

In 2012, the Janey Ensminger Act was passed, which authorized the US government to pay for medical care costs to family members harmed by the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

The Ensminger Act had limitations. It was basically disability benefits. Worse, Marines’ families were excluded.

Many in Congress think Marines and their families should not be limited to VA benefits. That thinking led to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022.

New Legislation Allows Camp Lejeune Lawsuits

Many Lejeune victims are on disability. But everyone knows that disability compensation does not replace a reasonable settlement amount. Providing health care benefits to Marines is not enough. Everyone also knows we must stand behind the United States Marine Corps, which has stood by us.

Congress passed a new federal law called the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (“CLJA”) of 2022. The CLJA circumvents the North Carolina response statute and gives Camp Lejeune victims the right to bring a contaminated water lawsuit in federal court for cancer or other disorders caused by contaminated water.

Under the new law, anyone exposed to Camp Lejeune water for 30 days between 1953 and 1987 can file suit and fight for a Camp Lejeune payout in the Eastern District of North Carolina. This is not a class action lawsuit although it obviously, as we discuss above, has many features of class action. Each case stands alone.

Who Is Being Sued in Camp Lejeune Lawsuit?

The defendant being sued in the Camp Lejeune lawsuit is the United States federal government.

Camp Lejeune Settlement Amounts

Settlement compensation for Camp Lejeune injuries will be based on the extent of the victims’ injuries and your drinking water contamination lawyer’s ability to tie the injuries or death to the toxic water. There are so many types of injuries from this toxic drinking water. You can expect Camp Lejeune per person settlement payouts to be tailored to victims’ injuries.

Settlement Amount Projections By Type of Camp Lejeune Claim

That is a big gap in the settlement ranges above, right? There is no question that settlement amount will vary based on the type of claim. Our lawyers have made Camp Lejeune compensation payout projections for specific types of Camp Lejeune claims:

Bladder Cancer	Parkinson’s Disease
Kidney Cancer	Liver Cancer
Lung Cancer	Esophageal Cancer
Birth Defects	Aplastic Anemia
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma	Prostate Cancer
Leukemia	Breast Cancer
Multiple Myeloma	Colorectal Cancer
Miscarriage	Brain Cancer
Aplastic Anemia	ALS
Myelodysplastic Syndrome	Thyroid Cancer
Soft Tissue Cancer	Cervical Cancer

Cancer and Parkinson’s Disease Settlement Amounts

You can expect the largest Camp Lejeune settlement amounts to go to cancer victims, their families, and Parkinson’s disease lawsuits. The average individual settlement for Parkinson’s disease cases we originally thought could reach between $1 million and $1.5 million. Of course, the Elective Option settlements have not reflected number that high and losing the right to a jury trial as we did at least temporarily in 2024 will decrease projected average settlement payout for Lejeune.  So an average of over a million was probably too aggressive.  Still, our lawyers think will see compensation offers in some of these cases that approach seven figures.

You need to remember the average is just an average  We do not have a situation where everyone gets the same settlement compensation payout. Instead, there is likely to be complex points award system per person that compensates victims based on a laundry list of facts that should provide more excellent settlement amounts to victims who have suffered the most.

Our Lawyers Will Narrow Settlement Compensation Projections

Granted, this is a broad range of settlement amounts, and there will likely be Camp Lejeune settlement payouts that are higher and lower than this range. But it is still early in the litigation. Our Camp Lejeune attorneys will know more as the litigation progresses. Our lawyers will update and narrow our Camp Lejeune settlement amount as we go.

$22 Billion Allotted to Camp Lejeune Settlements

Unlike most class action lawsuits, the decision as to the settlement amounts to compensate victims will involve politics and policy instead of projected jury compensation payouts. One looking glass to the ultimate settlement: the government has allocated $22 billion to pay Camp Lejeune settlement amounts and jury payouts. This final settlement number could go up or down. So it is a bit of an artificial number. But it is a strong anchor for the Justice Department when it starts offering settlement amounts to Camp Lejeune victims.

So you can do some back-of-the-napkin math to calculate average settlement compensation payouts. But the critical question is how many Lejeune class action claims will be filed. For example, if there are 110,000 claims accepted, that would be an average per-person Camp Lejeune settlement amount of $200,000.  In early 2024, the last count were over 170,000 claims.  But how many of those are viable claims?  We are probably back to that 110,000 estimate.

Political Pressure to Raise Camp Lejeune Lawsuit Payouts

The low range of the average Camp Lejeune lawsuit payout our attorneys projected above was $150,000. The question: is this what Congress intends? The politics of compensating veterans for the harm done to them probably does not jive with an average Camp Lejeune lawsuit settlement amount of $150,000. This is why the likely average per person Lejeune claim will probably be more than double that amount of money.

Type of Camp Lejeune Lawsuits Are Lawyers Are Seeing

What are the most common Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits?

This is a list of our law firm’s Camp Lejeune lawsuits, ranked by the number of cases we have for each injury or sickness.

1. Parkinson’s Disease
2. Lung Cancer
3. Kidney Cancer
4. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
5. Bladder Cancer
6. Prostate Cancer
7. Leukemia
8. Breast Cancer
9. Liver Cancer
10. Hepatic Steatosis
11. Multiple Myeloma
12. Colorectal Cancer
13. Other Cancer
14. Neurobehavioral
15. Miscarriage
16. Infertility
17. Brain Cancer
18. End State Renal Disease
19. Renal Toxicity
20. Birth Defects
21. Aplastic Anemia
22. ALS
23. Myelodysplastic Syndrome
24. Soft Tissue Cancer
25. Thyroid Cancer
26. Cervical Cancer
27. Hodgkin’s Disease
28. Cardiac Defects

Who Will be Eligible to Bring a Camp Lejeune Lawsuit?

When Congress eventually passes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), it will give thousands of former Lejeune residents, employees, and soldiers a legal right to bring a civil lawsuit against the federal government for injuries caused by the Camp Lejeune water contamination. So exactly who will be eligible to file a Camp Lejeune lawsuit under the CLJA?

Broad Language in Camp Lejeune Justice Act

The eligibility requirements are set forth in § 804(b) of the CLJA:

An individual, including a veteran, . . . or the legal representative of such an individual, who resided, worked, or was otherwise exposed (including in utero 22 exposure) for not less than 30 days during the period beginning on August 1, 1953, and ending on December 31, 1987, to water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

This language says that anyone who can prove that they were exposed to the water at Camp Lejeune for at least one month during the contamination period (i.e., 1953 to 1987) will be eligible to file a claim under the CLJA. Below is a breakdown of each part of the eligibility requirements under the CLJA.

Subsection (A):  Individual, Veteran, or Legal Representative

CLJA § 804(b) states those eligible to bring a case under the CLJA will include “[a]n individual, including a veteran, … or the legal representative of such an individual[.]” This language is intended to include anyone and everyone who lived, worked, or was stationed at Camp Lejeune during the relevant period

This group of eligible plaintiffs under the CLJA includes:

⦁ Marines (or other military personnel) who were stationed at Lejeune
⦁ Family members of Marines who lived in on-base housing at Camp Lejeune
⦁ Marines who worked or were assigned to Camp Lejeune
⦁ Civilian employees who worked at or near Camp Lejeune
⦁ Anyone else who was exposed to the Lejeune water

If the person who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune has passed away, their surviving family members or “legal representative” will be eligible to bring a wrongful death claim.

Subsection (B):  Resided, Worked, or Otherwise Exposed (Including In Utero)

The language § 804(b) of the CLJA says that eligibility extends to anyone who can prove that they lived or worked at Camp Lejeune. Individuals who lived at Camp Lejeune would mostly be limited to Marines stationed at the base and their families who lived in the on-base housing. Employees at Camp Lejeune could include both can employees, government contractors, and military personnel who worked at the base but did not live there.

The language “including in utero” is intended to extend eligibility to individuals who suffered prenatal exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune while still developing fetuses inside their mother’s womb. Public health studies have estimated that 20,000 to 30,000 pregnant women lived at Camp Lejeune for at least one month during the contamination period. These studies have also shown that prenatal exposure to Lejeune toxic water caused higher birth defect rates. Individuals with congenital disabilities after in utero exposure to the Lejeune water will be eligible to file claims under the CLJA.

The phrase “or was otherwise exposed” in subsection (b) is intended to be a catch-all term to include anyone who may not have lived or worked at Lejeune but can show that they were exposed to the contaminated water.

Subsection (C): For Not Less Than 30 Days

The final eligibility requirement under CLJA is that the individual’s connection to Camp Lejeune (either as a resident, employee, or otherwise) lasted for 30 days. In addition, that 30-day period of living or working at Camp Lejeune had to have occurred during the recognized “contamination period”: August 1, 1953, to December 31, 1987.

Proving Eligibility for a Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

To get a Camp Lejeune settlement payout under the CLJA, prospective plaintiffs will need to be able to produce some documentary evidence to prove that they lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for 30 days during the relevant period.

Marines and other military personnel will need to provide their military service records to prove they were at Camp Lejeune. Family members of Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune can use the same military service records to establish their residence on the base. Civilians seeking compensation can prove that they worked at Camp Lejeune by producing social security employment history records or other types of employment verification.

Prospective plaintiffs who cannot present some documentation to verify their connection to Camp Lejeune can still pursue a claim. Still, they will have difficulty establishing their eligibility without support documents. But your Camp Lejeune lawyer will work to track down these records for you.

How Many Camp Lejeune Settlements Have Their Been So Far?

So far, as of January 2024, three people have accepted settlements for their injuries from the toxic water at Lejeune, totaling $3,150,000. There are many more to come.

Can You Bring a Claim for Someone at Camp Lejeune Who Died Many Years Ago?

Yes, you are eligible to bring a Camp Lejeune wrongful death claim for someone who died many years ago. Many people are confused by this. But it is precisely how a wrongful death lawsuit works. This unique Camp Lejeune law just increases eligibility for claims that the statute of limitations would usually bar.

How Do You File a Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Lawsuit Under the Federal Tort Claims Act?

Camp Lejeune lawyers will first file an administrative claim with the Department of the Navy as federal law requires. See 28 USC sec. 2675.

The government has six months to accept or reject the claim (or ignore it). Procedurally, the government would deny the claim. Your Camp Lejeune lawyer may then file suit in federal court in North Carolina.

Details of the New Federal Law Allowing Camp Lejeune Victims the Right to Sue

A new federal law passed by Congress gives Camp Lejeune water contamination victims the legal right to bring civil lawsuits and seek financial compensation for their injuries. The new law is the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), which was incorporated into a larger bill known as the Honoring Our Pact Act.

Our lawyers have carefully reviewed the language of the CLJA, and in this section, we will provide a summary of the CLJA. We will also explain the details and procedures for how the CLJA will work, such as (a) who will be eligible to file suit, (b) what the deadline will be, (c) what victims can sue for, and (d) what are the qualifying criteria for getting a settlement payout.

Who Can File a Camp Lejeune Lawsuit?

The opening section of the CLJA defines the group of people that will now be entitled to seek a settlement payout or compensation from a jury via a Camp Lejeune civil lawsuit. This group includes:

(a) Anyone (including veterans and their families) who lived at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 1 month between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.
(b) Anyone who worked at Camp Lejeune (including civilian contractors) for a minimum of 1 month between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.
(c) Anyone who was “otherwise exposed” to the drinking water at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.

Anyone who meets these basic criteria will be covered by the CLJA provisions which give them the right to file a civil lawsuit. Keep in mind that you will need to be able to prove that you meet these “residency” criteria with some evidence, preferably documentary evidence.

Veterans and their families should be able to produce military service records to prove that they were stationed at Lejeune for the required period. Civilian contractors and non-military personnel use other documents to demonstrate that they meet these criteria, such as social security employment records.

What Can Camp Lejeune Victims Sue For?

Individuals who can prove that they lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987 will meet the initial eligibility criteria under the CLJA. These individuals will then have the right to file a tort lawsuit seeking a verdict or settlement payout against the United States government, alleging that they suffered physical harm or injuries caused or associated with exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune. Lawsuits not related to alleged exposure to the toxic water at Lejeune or not involving physical injuries will not be permitted.

What Will Lejeune Victims Have to Prove to Get a Settlement Payout or Verdict?

Individuals who meet the qualifying criteria under the CLJA (i.e., lived or worked at Lejeune for 30 days during the applicable period) will NOT automatically qualify for settlement compensation.

Rather, these individuals will have the right to file a lawsuit for their alleged injuries. To get financial compensation, plaintiffs who file lawsuits under the CLJA will still need to prove that the contaminated water caused their injuries at Lejeune.

The CLJA establishes a lower burden of proof, making it easier for plaintiffs who bring Camp Lejeune water lawsuits under the CLJA to prove their case. Specifically, section (b)(2) of the CLJA provides that Lejeune plaintiffs can satisfy their burden of proof with a scientific study concluding that their alleged injury (i.e., kidney cancer, etc.) could be linked to exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune:

Use of Studies – A study conducted on humans or animals, or from an epidemiological study that ruled out chance and bias with reasonable confidence and which concluded, with sufficient evidence, that exposure to the water described in subsection (a) is one possible cause of the harm, shall be sufficient to satisfy the burden of proof described under paragraph (1).

This provision suggests that plaintiffs under CLJA will be allowed to prove their claims if they can cite a single study suggesting a link between their type of cancer (or other injuries) and the Lejeune water. This would eliminate the requirement of expert witness testimony, although it is not entirely clear who to interpret this provision.

How to File A Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

Potential plaintiffs who meet the qualifying criteria under the CLJA can file their civil lawsuit by contacting an attorney. Our law office provides legal assistance to victims file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit. Our Camp Lejeune lawyers offer a free consultation, and we answer the question for free. We want to help.

CLJA claimants will be required to file civil lawsuits in the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This is the only available venue because the CLJA gives the Eastern District of North Carolina exclusive jurisdiction over the Lejeune water lawsuits.

Camp Lejeune Claim Must First Be Filed Before Lawsuit

Section (g) of the CLJA clarifies that before any eligible plaintiff can file a civil lawsuit, they must comply with 28 USC § 2675. This means that plaintiffs will must first file with the “appropriate federal agency” and have that claim denied before they can bring a civil suit. When toxic water claims are submitted, federal agencies must approve or reject them within six months.

The appropriate federal agency for a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit will be the Department of Defense. In most situations, filing this sort of claim with a federal agency is just a formality that plaintiffs go through before filing their lawsuit.

For Camp Lejeune lawsuits, however, the DOD may offer settlement amounts to resolve what appear to be legitimate claims. That would make sense, considering Congress in passing this law because they want deserving victims to get a settlement payout. Otherwise, what is the point of all of this? This would offer a much faster route for victims to get financial compensation.

Deadlines for Filing a Claim Under CLJA

Section (j) of the CLJA creates a special statute of limitations deadline for Camp Lejeune victims who want to bring claims under the CLJA. Under § (j)(1), the general statute of limitations to file suit for claims by Lejeune victims was initially two years after the date on which “the harm occurred or was discovered.” The final version President Biden signed had a hard two-year deadline from August 10, 2022, to bring a claim.

So victims who have developed cancer, suffered birth defects, or been diagnosed with another condition possibly related to the Lejeune water will need to file their claims within two-year deadline.

How Camp Lejeune Wrongful Death Claims Work?

The newly enacted CLJA allows tort claims to be brought on behalf of former Camp Lejeune residents or employees who are now deceased because of injuries related to the water contamination.

Exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune occurred in North Carolina so these cases would involve wrongful death and survival claims under North Carolina law. In this section, our Camp Lejeune attorneys provide a brief overview of death claims in North Carolina.

North Carolina Wrongful Death Claims

North Carolina law allows two types of tort claims that can be filed on behalf of someone after their death: (1) wrongful death claims; and (2) a survival action. Both causes of action are created by statute.

North Carolina Gen. Stat. § 28A-18-2 allows the estate of a deceased person to bring a wrongful death claim against any person who negligently or intentionally caused the decedent’s death.

Only Personal Representative Can Bring Camp Lejeune Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Unlike other states which allow wrongful death claims to be brought by any close family member of the decedent, North Carolina only permits the personal representative of the decedent’s estate to bring suit If the wrongful death claim is successful, the settlement proceeds or damages are distributed to the decedent’s heirs (not just the personal representative).

Camp Lejeune Wrongful Death Damages

In a North Carolina wrongful death claim, damages can be awarded for:

1. medical expenses
2. pain & suffering of the decedent
3. loss of the decedent’s income, personal services and companionship, and
4. funeral expenses

Camp Lejeune Survival Actions

The survival claim can recover for pre-death injuries that are separate and distinct from the wrongful death claim. Just like wrongful death cases, North Carolina law only allows the personal representative of the decedent’s estate to bring survival claims.

Rules of Camp Lejeune Wrongful Death Claims

Under the newly passed CLJA, wrongful death claims can be brought by the estate of any former residents or employees of Camp Lejeune who died because of injuries related to their exposure to the contaminated water.

Personal representatives could also bring survival claims under the CLJA, although they would have to show that this claim seeks pre-death damages based on separate and distinct actions.

Contact Our Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawyers

Our lawyers believe that this new law was passed because Congress wants Camp Lejeune water contamination victims to receive fair settlement amounts for the harm done while they or a family member was serving our country.

Our Camp Lejeune lawyers are offering legal assistance to individuals who were harmed by exposure to Camp Lejeune water using the following criteria:

• You served, lived, or worked at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base in North Carolina for at least 30 days between the years 1953 and 1987.
• You were subsequently diagnosed with leukemia, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or any other conditions our lawyers laid out above.

Contact our Camp Lejeune attorneys today for a free consultation at 800-553-8082 or get a free no-obligation online consultation. Our attorneys only get paid if you do.