Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Exposure
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Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Exposure
For nearly forty years between 1953 and 1987, the water supply at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina was contaminated with toxic volatile compounds putting hundreds of thousands of individuals at risk for developing serious illnesses.
The contaminated wells supplied drinking, cooking, and bathing water to military families, children at daycare and school, patients receiving treatment at the base hospital, and to service members and civilians as they worked. Fifteen different illnesses including various types of cancer, neurological disorders, and infertility have already been linked to exposure to the toxic water at Camp Lejeune.
Until recently, individuals who suffered illnesses or lost loved ones due to exposure to the toxic water have been blocked from seeking compensation for their injuries. With the passage of the Camp Lejeune Act of 2022, victims and their surviving family members can for the first time bring a claim for compensation against the U.S. government even if the injuries were sustained decades ago and the statute of limitations has already expired.
Background on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is a nearly 250 square mile military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina that was first opened in 1942. Camp Lejeune is renowned for its 14 miles of beaches which makes it a major site for amphibious assault trainings including the beach landings that would prove pivotal to winning World War II.
The U.S. Navy engineers who designed the base drew its water supply from a shallow aquifer. Over one hundred wells pulling from the aquifer fed into a total of eight water systems throughout Camp Lejeune. Many of these wells quickly became polluted by military activities. Underground fuel tanks leaked thousands of gallons of fuel each month creating a gasoline lake above the aquifer. Solvents used to clean weaponry and machinery were improperly dumped and permeated into the water supply.
U.S. Navy officials first detected contaminants in the water supply in 1982. However, this information was withheld from service members and the public for nearly two decades. Ultimately, the U.S. Marine Corps acknowledged that from 1953 through 1987, the water supply to the military base had been heavily polluted by carcinogenic chemicals known as “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs) including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), benzene, and vinyl chloride. This admission sadly came decades too late for thousands of veterans and their families.
The Camp Lejeune Act of 2022
The U.S. government has been slow to provide justice to individuals and families affected by toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune. For decades, persons who lived and worked at Camp Lejeune were unaware of their exposure to toxic chemicals by drinking and bathing in the base’s water.
The Camp Lejeune Act of 2022 (which was signed into law on August 10, 2022) allows veterans, their family members including unborn children, and others who resided, worked, or were exposed to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune to file a claim for financial compensation with the U.S. government.
To be eligible to file a claim, an individual must have lived, worked, or been otherwise present at Camp Lejeune for at least thirty days from August 1, 1953, through December 31, 1987, been exposed to the water supply, and suffered one of many qualifying injuries. All claims must be filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Victims have a two-year deadline to file a claim and can do so even if the statute of limitations has already run on their claim.
Camp Lejeune Injuries
The industrial chemicals that contaminated the Camp Lejeune water supply are known to be highly toxic to humans and the U.S. government has already acknowledged their link to various qualifying cancers, neurologic disorders and other injuries including:
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Female infertility
- Hepatic steatosis (fatty liver disease)
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Liver Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Miscarriage
- Multiple myeloma
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Neurobehavioral effects
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
In addition, the science and medical evidence continues to mount supporting additional injuries related to toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune, including but not limited to:
- Aplastic anemia
- Birth defects
- Birth injuries
- Brain cancer
- Cardiac defects
- Cervical cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Fetal death
- Intestinal cancer
- Major fetal malformations
- Ovarian cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Plastic anemia and other bone marrow conditions
- Prostate cancer
- Thyroid cancer
Fetal and newborn deaths and birth defects are one of the great tragedies of Camp Lejeune. Over the years, thousands of pregnant women were exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune. In fact, so many young children died at Camp Lejeune that a large section of the base cemetery was known as “Baby Heaven.”
In 2013, the CDC released the results of a study that confirmed that children who were born to mothers that drank the water supply at Camp Lejeune had four times the rate of birth defects such as spina bifida. The CDC also indicated that children who were exposed to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during fetal gestation had an increased risk of developing childhood cancers like leukemia. These same children may also end up having a higher risk of cancer as adults.
What is the Deadline for Filing a Camp Lejeune Claim?
There is a strict two-year time deadline of no later than August 10, 2024, to file a claim in federal court for injuries suffered by exposure to toxic water at Camp Lejeune. This deadline applies to all new claims regardless of whether the injury was suffered decades ago, or the statute of limitations has previously expired.
Who is Eligible to Pursue a Camp Lejeune Claim?
To be eligible to file a claim, an individual must have lived, worked, or been otherwise present at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days (not required to be consecutive) from August 1, 1953, through December 31, 1987, been exposed to the water supply, and suffered one of many qualifying injuries.
Claims must be filed in federal court in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina only. Additionally, claimants must first file an administrative claim against the U.S. government pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2675 which must be adjudicated prior to filing an action in federal court.
How to Pursue a Camp Lejeune Claim?
Individuals should not try to pursue a claim alone. There are unique filing and procedural requirements to Camp Lejeune claims which make them different than other mass tort litigations. Claimants should make sure they are working with experienced counsel to properly navigate these hurdles.
If you or a loved was stationed, worked at, or was otherwise present at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, you may be entitled to significant compensation for any injuries you have suffered, including reimbursement of medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, cancer diagnosis and treatment, birth defects, and permanent injury, including wrongful death.
To speak with an experienced Camp Lejeune lawyer about a potential claim, contact Fitzgerald Law Group at (844) FITZ-LAW, via email at info@fitz-lawgroup.com, or complete the evaluation form on this website for a free and confidential case assessment.
