The settlements are not a substitute for, but an alternative to environmental law or personal injury lawsuits. But they may now be the only realistic means of recovery for individuals who were injured decades ago.
Toxic contamination
In the early 1980s, the Marine Corps discovered that the drinking water systems for two housing areas at Camp Lejeune were contaminated with volatile organic compounds. The major contaminants were trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, benzene and vinyl chloride. The source of the contamination included an off-base dry-cleaning operation, on-base spills at industrial sites and leaks from underground storage tanks and drums at dumps and storage lots.
Remediation began in 1984, but, by then, thirty years of damage had been done. The harm has continued to evolve, especially for infants then in utero (but now adults) who were harmed as much as 70 years ago and for family members, whose loved ones have passed.
Damage to health
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has linked the contamination with:
- Adverse reproductive and birth outcomes: miscarriages, stillbirths, congenital disabilities, and cardiac defects;
- Cancers, including kidney cancer, adult-onset leukemia, liver cancer, bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, aplastic anemia/myelodysplastic syndromes, lung and cervical cancers;
- Parkinson’s disease (70 percent higher risk found in some studies); and
- Other chronic conditions, including systemic sclerosis/scleroderma, end stage renal disease, and renal toxicity.
The symptoms of exposure to Camp Lejeune water contamination can vary widely among individuals and may not appear for years.
Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012
As part of the Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, qualifying Veterans can receive most of their health care from the VA if they served on active duty at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987. For those with one of the 16 medical conditions presumed to be related to exposure (listed above), there is no charge for care. For other conditions, Veterans may have a co-pay.
Camp Lejeune Justice Act
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act allowed Veterans and families who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune to file claims with the Department of the Navy. However, administrative claims must have been filed before August 2024. The process is now closed.
If a claim has been denied or was not decided within six months of the date of filing, claimants may still file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. As of October 2025, there were roughly 3,647 Camp Lejeune lawsuits pending in that court.
The DOJ’s role, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, is to defend the federal government against the lawsuits of those who were injured by the toxic water.
Pressure to settle
On September 6, 2023, the DOJ and the Navy announced the CLJA Elective Option (EO). Claimants and plaintiffs with qualifying injuries and who resided or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days may be eligible for the EO. The Justice Department argues that the EO provides a framework for resolving CLJA claims more quickly and more efficiently than litigation, which might otherwise require resolution of uncertain legal and factual issues through potentially burdensome discovery, motions practice, and bellwether trials.
READ MORE CAMP LEJEUNE CONTAMINATED WATER LEGAL NEWS
The DOJ has reportedly tightened control over the approval process to speed along settlement offers. The government’s argument about the benefits of pursuing the EO may remind some of the arguments about the benefits of arbitration frequently advanced by employers to discourage workers from bringing a lawsuit. The downside in those employment cases is that the claimants’ recoveries are often smaller than they would be through the judicial process.
Time ticks down and the window of opportunity narrows
The potential claimants are now older, sicker, possibly disabled, and understandably worn down by the challenges of pursuing justice. An experienced attorney who specializes in Camp Lejeune contaminated water cases may be able to help those who decide to seek an EO settlement or to continue with an existing lawsuit. Claimants may also decide to pursue VA disability benefits in addition to other remedies, another complicated process with which a lawyer can help.
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