Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit

New Camp Lejeune Justice Act administrative claims can no longer be filed. The deadline to submit a new claim was August 10, 2024. The Department of the Navy no longer accepts new claims under the Act.

Maxwell Law Group is proud to represent many veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune. We remain committed to our clients and their families.

The closure of new-claim filing does not end claims submitted before the deadline. Timely claims may continue through administrative review or litigation where permitted by the Act.

Camp Lejeune is a Marine Corps base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Contaminated drinking water exposed military personnel, their families, and workers to toxic chemicals during the period covered by the Act, from August 1, 1953, through December 31, 1987.

Camp Lejeune is one of the marine corps’ largest base camps. It is located in North Carolina and spans 246 square miles. It was constructed in 1941 and is used for a variety of military training and as a housing area for marines and their families. The camp has underground water storage tanks which supply the whole base.

Due to years of unregulated dumping of solvents including oil, industrial waste, and possibly radioactive chemicals near the base wells, Camp Lejeune's water supply was contaminated with several chemicals. The camp's water supply comes from two sources, the Hadnot Point Treatment Plant and the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant. Toxic chemicals were found in both treatment plants. The contamination period ran from August 1, 1953, through December 31, 1987.

It is estimated that about 500,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants found in the water supply.

The Act covered individuals, including veterans, family members, and civilian workers, who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. Exposure in utero could also qualify.

These eligibility requirements do not reopen the filing window. New administrative claims had to be submitted by August 10, 2024.

Routine sampling from Camp Lejeune’s water treatment plants showed 4 chemicals that contaminated their drinking water supply:

• Trichloroethylene (TCE)

Trichloroethylene is a nonflammable colorless liquid that is used as a solvent for cleaning and degreasing metal parts and as a component in making other chemicals, such as refrigerants. It can evaporate quickly in air but can stay a long time in soil and water since evaporation is the only way to break it down.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to high levels of TCE can cause facial nerve damage, heartbeat irregularities, liver and kidney damage. There is evidence that exposure to TCE in the workplace can cause scleroderma, a condition where the immune system attacks the connective tissues under the skin and around internal organs, while men who were exposed showed a decrease in sperm quality and reproductive hormone levels. Human studies also show that TCE has developmental effects like spontaneous abortion, birth defects, and small birth weight.

Tetrachloroethylene or Perchloroethylene is a nonflammable colorless chemical used for dry cleaning and as a solvent for metal degreasing. It breaks down slowly in air, water, and soil.

The CDC lists unconsciousness and mood, memory, attention, and vision changes as effects of high-level exposure to PCE. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) considers PCE as a probable carcinogen in humans.

• Vinyl Chloride

Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas used in the manufacturing of plastic products, including pipes, wire and cable coatings, and packaging materials. It breaks down quickly when exposed to soil and water if it is near the surface.

According to the CDC, liver changes are observed in people who breathed vinyl chloride for several years, while some people who were exposed at work had nerve damage and immune reactions. The Department of Health and Human Services categorizes vinyl chloride as a known carcinogen, linked with increased risk of developing liver, barin, lung, and blood cancer.

• Benzene

Benzene is a colorless liquid used in a lot of manufacturing plants for a variety of products, including rubbers, dyes, detergents, lubricants, pesticides, and medicine. It can break down in the air for a few days, but breaks down more slowly in soil and water.

High levels of benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, rapid heart rate, and headaches. Continued exposure to benzene has been linked with harmful effects to the bone marrow, causing lower levels of blood cell and plasma production leading to anemia, infections, and excessive bleeding. Women exposed to benzene experienced irregular menstrual patterns and decrease in ovary sizes. Both the Department of Health and Human Services and the IARC consider benzene as a human carcinogen.

The earliest Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit was filed in July 2007 by the wife of a Marine Corps Corporal. She and her husband resided in Camp Lejeune from 1980 to 1983. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2003.

In 2011, another lawsuit was filed by a former marine soldier who stayed at the camp from 1957 to 1959. He developed a rare form of breast cancer despite not having any family history or risk factors.

Around 850 lawsuits were filed by former Camp Lejeune residents, but all of them were ultimately dismissed in 2016 because of North Carolina’s statute of limitations. Over the years, multiple appeals have been submitted to reverse the dismissal but was repeatedly rejected because of the state prohibitions on lawsuits filed 10 years after the last pollution occurred.

In August 2022, the Camp Lejeune Justice Act became law as part of the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. The Act created a path for qualifying individuals to seek compensation without being blocked by North Carolina’s 10-year statute of repose. The deadline for new administrative claims was August 10, 2024. A person who submitted a timely administrative claim may still pursue litigation where the Act permits it following denial or the required waiting period. See the Department of Justice’s Camp Lejeune claims information.

Maxwell Law Group is proud to represent many veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune. We are honored to stand beside our clients and their families as they pursue their timely filed claims.

We are not accepting new Camp Lejeune claims. Existing clients with questions about their claim can call our team at (844) 525-7155.