Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water Victims Have Until August 10, 2024, To Seek Compensation

Thousands of military personnel, civilian workers, and families stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, were exposed to toxic chemicals at the base, putting them at risk of severe injury or death. Congress enacted legislation to compensate victims, but the August 10, 2024, claim deadline is fast approaching.

President Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) on August 10, 2022, creating a $21 billion fund to provide financial relief to those who suffered injuries from exposure to toxic drinking water at the base between 1953 and 1987. Victims have filed more than 170,000 administrative claims with the Department of Navy since August 2022, and more than 1,500 complaints are on file in federal court.

While most claimants have completed the necessary forms, many have not. The law requires claimants to submit administrative claims to the Navy at least six months before they can initiate a formal lawsuit in federal court. Additionally, if wrongful death is alleged, a claimant must open a probate estate before submitting a CLJA administrative claim form.

Failing to submit an administrative claim by the August 10, 2024, cutoff could forever bar an injured claimant from filing a federal lawsuit or participating in any future settlement.

Diagnoses and Compensation Under the Elective Option Settlement Program

The Navy and U.S. Department of Justice implemented an “Elective Option” to help victims quickly resolve their qualifying CLJA claims, depending on the injury and the amount of time claimants worked or lived at Camp Lejeune, as categorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR):

Tier 1 diagnoses include:

• Kidney Cancer
• Liver Cancer
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Leukemia
• Bladder Cancer

Claimants alleging these Tier 1 diseases would receive:

• $450,000 if exposed to Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water for more than five years.
• $300,000 if exposed between one and five years.
• $150,000 if exposed between 30 and 364 days.

Tier 2 diagnoses include:

• Multiple Myeloma
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Kidney Disease/End-Stage Renal Disease
• Systemic Sclerosis/Systemic Scleroderma

Claimants alleging these Type 2 diseases would receive:

• $400,000 if exposed to Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water for more than five years.
• $250,000 if exposed between one and five years.
• $100,000 if exposed between 30 and 364 days.

For Tier 1 or Tier 2 claims where the injury resulted in death, claimants would receive an additional $100,000.

A recent ATSDR study revealed a substantial causal relationship between exposure to Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water supply and these diseases, which may now also qualify for CLJA compensation:

• Colon Cancer
• Laryngeal Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Pharyngeal Cancer
• Thyroid Cancer

Please visit our Camp Lejeune Water Contamination FAQs to learn more about the toxins investigators discovered, associated medical conditions, and how the settlement affects veterans’ benefits.

If You or a Loved One Suffered Harm, Act Now!

Unlike other dangerous chemical exposure claims, the federal government has instituted strict requirements for victims to obtain compensation under the CLJA, including a hard-and-fast deadline of August 10, 2024, to file a claim. If you or a family member served, worked, or lived at Camp Lejeune for more than 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, and became ill with one of the qualifying illnesses or diseases from exposure to the contaminated water, you must act now or forever lose your opportunity to participate in the multibillion-dollar settlement. Please contact us today!