Camp Lejeune

Why Hire HKGC for a Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

For more than three decades, Camp Lejeune, a U.S. Marine Corps Base in North Carolina, was home to a hidden danger – contaminated water – and the health effects of toxins discovered in several wells have been linked to severe illnesses and deaths.

While the Camp Lejeune claims deadline has passed, Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain helped represent victims of the base’s water contamination, and the firm has years of experience handling other types of toxic exposure lawsuits. We’re relentless in our pursuit of justice and will go the extra mile in any toxic contamination lawsuit to secure financial compensation for what you and your family have unfairly endured.

Who Could File a Camp Lejeune Lawsuit?

Thanks to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), individuals who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune when the water was contaminated were able to seek compensation and hold the U.S. government responsible for their suffering and losses.

Those who were eligible to file a Camp Lejeune claim included injured veterans, their family members, civilians, or a legal representative of someone harmed by the toxic water discovered on the base. They must have resided, worked, or been otherwise exposed (including in utero exposure) to the water contamination at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.

While the Camp Lejeune deadline for filing a claim has passed, you can continue reading our Camp Lejeune legal guide to learn more about the Camp Lejeune legislation, the legal options that were offered to those injured, the health effects of water contamination, and the history of Camp Lejeune water contamination. 

Legislation for Victims of Water Contamination

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed the Janey Ensminger Act, which allowed military personnel to access medical coverage through the VA for a list of illnesses linked to Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water. The Act offered disability benefits to veterans, but overall, it was severely limiting; those harmed or the families of loved ones who died were prevented from seeking additional compensation, and civilians were completely left out.

Even with the Janey Ensminger Act, there was little that victims of Camp Lejeune’s toxic water could do on a legal level; it didn’t allow victims to sue the government for illnesses and wrongful deaths linked to contaminated water at the military base, but that changed with new legislation.

On August 2, 2022, the Honoring Our PACT Act, which includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, was passed by the U.S. Senate. When President Biden signed the new bill into law on August 10, 2022, individuals were given the ability to file Camp Lejeune lawsuits. However, victims had to file an administrative claim with the Navy first. If their claim wasn’t addressed within 180 days, a lawsuit against the U.S. government could be pursued.

Camp Lejeune lawsuits contended that exposure to the dangerous toxins in the drinking water caused illnesses and deaths and alleged negligence and failure to warn. They claimed the government should have known the risks and done more to protect victims. After all, the slow response when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were discovered in the wells at Camp Lejeune in 1982 put thousands more people at risk when they continued operating for three years.

Legal Options for Camp Lejeune Victims

Numerous cancers and other conditions are linked to toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune. These health conditions have caused chronic illnesses and permanent disabilities and, for many, have been fatal.

Seeking financial compensation for not just medical bills and lost wages but wrongful death, pain and suffering, and other damages can alleviate the burden and harm victims and their families experience. It also holds the government responsible for any failures on its part.

Our experienced team of Camp Lejeune lawyers was available to help clients navigate the complex legal process of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. There was only a short, two-year window to file a Camp Lejeune claim – the deadline was August 10, 2024.

Health Effects of Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

The Camp Lejeune water contamination health effects have been life-changing and, for many, fatal. Exposure to the toxins discovered on base has been associated with severe illnesses that have lasting effects on victims and their families.

Female infertility and miscarriage. Renal toxicity, aplastic anemia, Parkinson’s disease, neurobehavioral effects, and scleroderma. Bladder, liver, kidney, and breast cancer. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. These are just some of the health effects linked to the toxins in Camp Lejeune’s drinking water.

Other possible symptoms and illnesses caused by water containing high VOC levels include low birth weight, eye defects, and impaired immune systems.

Several factors may affect the health problems and the types of cancer victims develop from Camp Lejeune water contamination: 

1. When the exposure occurred (age, during pregnancy).
2. How much and how long you were exposed.
3. How the exposure occurred (ingested, inhaled, absorbed).
4. Personal health and habits.

Unfortunately, water contamination doesn’t typically cause immediate or noticeable symptoms. People could be exposed for years without their knowledge and discover it when it’s far too late. Such is the case of the staggering number of stillbirths by mothers who lived at Camp Lejeune. There is even a nearby cemetery called “Baby Heaven” dedicated to hundreds of babies born with fatal birth defects and others who died from leukemia and lymphoma.

Camp Lejeune Water Contamination History

Camp Lejeune is a U.S. Marine Corps base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Established in 1942, it’s well-known as an elite training center for military personnel, and its location provides fast deployments when needed. The 246-square-mile property has everything active-duty and retired Marines and their families need; there are schools, daycares, medical facilities, shopping centers, restaurants, banks, theaters, and other amenities.

However, from 1953 to 1987, those living and working at Camp Lejeune drank, bathed, and cooked with highly contaminated water. Trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride, benzyne, and other harmful chemicals that pose risks to human health were discovered. These toxins have been associated with several cancers and other serious and fatal health conditions.

Unfortunately, what’s known about the events prior to the discovery of water contamination at Camp Lejeune suggests that more could have been done to protect those exposed to harmful toxins.

In 1974, the Marine Corps knew about the dangers that solvents presented to human health. They were ordered to dispose of the chemicals at Camp Lejeune properly, but whether that occurred is unclear.

Water testing at Camp Lejeune didn’t officially begin until 1980, at which point scientists identified and shared concerns that harmful chemicals were affecting test results, indicating that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were present. Many scientists said the level of contamination was the highest they had ever seen. Some of the levels of toxins in Camp Lejeune’s water supply were over 3,000 times the limit for what is considered safe to consume by today’s standards.

While the water tests at Camp Lejeune found VOCs in the wells that provided the majority of the drinking water in 1982, it took three years for the most contaminated wells to be shut down. What’s worse was the discovery that these wells had been contaminated so long that an estimated one million people were exposed to highly toxic water.

The sources of contaminants in the water at Camp Lejeune were waste disposal sites, leaky underground fuel storage tanks, and industrial spills. An off-base dry cleaner improperly disposed of solvents for years, and the solvent used to clean machinery on-base may have also been a source.