Water Contamination

It’s been over a month since President Biden signed the PACT Act, and the United States Navy is already reporting more than 5000 claims against Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water. While the case is still in its early days, the influx of claimants indicates, according to Reuters’s Diana Novak Jones, that Camp Lejeune lawsuits have “the potential for one of the largest mass litigations in U.S. history.” 5

Reports confirm that as early as 1953, Camp Lejeune’s water contained high levels of dangerous toxins. However, it would take the North Carolina Marine Corps base three decades to shut down the affected water wells. That’s thirty long years of exposure for people who lived and worked at Camp Lejeune. Yet, those affected by Camp Lejeune’s toxic water continued to suffer. Legal limitations in North Carolina left thousands of Marines, families, and civilians working at Camp Lejeune without legal recourse. For many Marines affected by toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune, The Pact Act opens a path to possible compensation.

According to reporting from Reuters, up to one million people may have been exposed to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water, and attorneys “attorneys estimate that up to 500,000 claims could be filed.” 5

Since the signing of the PACT Act, AVA Law Group has filed over 500 Camp Lejeune claims. As we continue to advocate for our men and women in uniform, we expect to file more than 2500 claims in the coming weeks.

Researchers have linked exposure to trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and benzene to leukemia, myeloma, Parkinson’s disease, anemia, and other myelodysplastic syndromes.

Despite the studies, Reuters’s Diana Novak Jones points out that the government typically held immunity to lawsuits until the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. 5

The Justice for Camp Lejeune Act 2022 gives Marines, family members, and those working on the base two years to file claims against the United States Navy.

Marines at Camp Lejeune put their life on the line for their fellow Americans. They served their country, and the government failed to protect them. Instead, officials engaged in a cover-up. Of the thousands exposed to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water, officials decline to inform most of them.

Military members are our country’s first line of defense. We must protect and respect the men and women who showed up and continue fighting for us every day.

At AVA Law Group, we understand that bringing a lawsuit against the United States Government is about more than money. It’s about standing up and holding those in power accountable for their actions and the damage they’ve caused.

Former US Marines allege they developed ulcerative colitis from exposure to toxic water at Camp Lejeune.

Former marine Joseph Harper and 2400 other marines have filed lawsuits against Camp Lejeune and associated businesses such as 3m Company and Buckeye Fire Equipment. The lawsuits assert that those responsible for contaminating the water knew or should have known that PFAS chemicals would be dangerous to the military personnel and others living and working at Camp Lejeune.

Joseph Harper, who resided at Camp Lejeune between 1985 and 1987, struggled for years before doctors diagnosed him with ulcerative colitis (UC), an inflammatory bowel disease that causes ulcers and inflammation in the digestive tract. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of UC develop over time. It is a serious, sometimes life-threatening condition that “affects the innermost lining of your large intestine (colon) and rectum.” 2

Water contamination started as early as 1953, and although officials discovered the problem as early as the 70s, it continued for three decades until 1987. Still, despite the closure of the affected water wells in 1987, it would take another decade for Camp Lejeune officials to disclose the contamination to the public and former residents and workers who spent time on the base.

So in 2020, almost twenty years after his official UC diagnosis, Harper started to see stories all over the internet about contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. That’s when he connected his illness and the water he drank and bathed in during his two years at Camp Lejeune.

In 2012, President Obama signed the Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, which paved the way for healthcare for many marines (and their families) who developed at least one of eight illnesses after staying at Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987.

While the Families Act was a step in the right direction, it proved almost impossible for veterans whose illnesses fell outside the VA’s checklist, leaving thousands of suffering veterans and their families without health care benefits. However, recent studies have continued to link Camp Lejeune’s toxic water to over 45 (and counting) illnesses and conditions.

Furthermore, critics of The Families Act pointed out that the bill did nothing to address North Carolina’s statute of limitations, which prevented victims from filing a claim for damages due to how much time had passed.

Since 2012, advocates haven’t stopped fighting for justice for Camp Lejeune victims. And with the passing of The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, the fight has paid off.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act addresses some of the gaps in the 2012 Act. That means veterans affected by Camp Lejeune’s toxic water will finally get the chance to have their voices heard in court. And, this go-around, those voices will include the thousands of veterans whose illnesses don’t fall within the eight listed by the VA.

Call an AVA legal expert today if you or a loved one resided at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 and became ill because of contaminated water.

If you were exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune, please call the team at AVA Law Group at 800-727-7777, today. It is a free and confidential consultation. There is currently a bill pending in Washington DC further addressing the Camp Lejeune Water Poisoning tragedy called the Camp Lejeune Justice Act and it passed the House on March 3rd, 2022 with bipartisan support. It pass as part of the larger, comprehensive Honoring Our PACT Act of 2021. If this bill also passes in the United States Senate, it would allow for military families to seek justice for decades of water contamination at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and the diseases caused by it.

Do not worry, if you are able to bring a lawsuit upon the successful passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, you are not hurting fellow marines in any way. It is the bureaucrats in Washington DC who have longed denied justice for Marines at Camp Lejeune who were exposed to toxic water that will be running for cover.

In a horrifying, decades-long alleged disregard for the health of its own brothers and sisters, the US Military systematically may have misled the public about the toxicity of the water at Camp Lejeune. Imagine, for example, knowing that hundreds of gallons of Benzene were being dumped straight into water treatment facilities on the base but covering up any problem with the water supply. It is staggering how many alleged opportunities senior officers may have had to warn marines and their families living on base at Camp Lejeune about the toxic water, and yet failed to do so.

If you or a loved one lived at Camp Lejeune for over thirty days from 1953-1988 and may have gotten sick because of exposure to toxic water, please call AVA Law Group today to find out what the Camp Lejeune Justice Act may mean for you and your family. Even children or surviving spouses of service members who passed way due to their exposure toxic water on Camp Lejeune may qualify under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.

A 2014 study published in Environmental Health revealed that residents of Camp Lejeune had higher mortality rates than cohorts who resided on other military bases.

The notorious military base’s problems started in 1953 when solvents from an off-base dry cleaner started contaminating Tarawa Terrace, one of the camp’s eight water wells. The contamination would last for another three decades. Another supply well, Hadnot Point, would eventually become contaminated; however, studies link the contamination of Hadnot Point to on-base activities such as “leaking underground storage tanks, industrial area spills, and waste disposal sites.” 3

It would take three decades for officials to discover and contain the contamination at Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point. From 1953-1987, service members, their families, and other civilians at Camp Lejeune continued to drink, bathe, and use contaminated water.

The 2014 study sought to determine whether exposure to contaminated water increased mortality rates among those who lived and worked at Camp Lejeune. To accomplish this goal, the study “evaluated specific causes of death in 154,932 Marines and Navy personnel” stationed at Camp Lejeune from 1975-1985. 4

Researchers then evaluated and compared deaths among military personnel residing at Camp Pendleton, a military base with no record of water contamination, during the same period.

Scientists not only discovered a higher mortality rate among those who resided at Camp Lejeune during 1975-1985 but also found a higher rate of chronic and debilitating conditions among Camp Lejeune residents. These illnesses included cancers of the cervix, esophagus, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, prostate, rectum, soft tissue, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemias, multiple myeloma, and multiple sclerosis. 4

The contamination at Camp Lejeune exposed thousands of military personnel and their families to toxic water. While these people continued to serve their country bravely, officials chose to keep them in the dark. Most people who resided at Camp Lejeune spent the next two decades unaware of their exposure to toxic water. While they would go on to develop debilitating illnesses, officials engaged in coverup after coverup.

If you or a loved one resided at Camp Lejeune between 1953-1987 and suffered an illness afterward, you may be entitled to compensation. You served your country, and now it’s time the courts hear your story.

In 2012, President Obama passed the Camp Lejeune Families Act. The 2012 law paved the way for veterans and survivors affected by Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water access to improved healthcare, housing, education, and memorial services.

While the Camp Lejeune Families Act was a step in the right direction, a recent government watchdog report found that the VA mishandled and declined over 17,000 applications submitted by veterans affected by toxic water during their stay at Camp Lejeune.

According to Leo Shane III’s Marine Corp Times reporting, the VA dismissed over one-third of all Camp Lejeune-related cases between March 2017 and March 2021. 1

The processing error purportedly originated from improper training and premature dismal of cases that seemingly didn’t qualify for benefits under the Camp Lejeune Families Act.

Under the 2012 law, eligibility for benefits depended on the diagnosis of one of eight illnesses or any ailment an applicant could prove developed due to drinking contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. However, the Marine Corp Times reports instead of asking for more information from veterans who may have qualified under the latter conditional, staff members simply disqualified many Lejeune survivors who would have met the requirements for at least some benefits under the law.

“In many cases, veterans could have been awarded at least one year of back pay for medical conditions that had lingered for years, even if they had not applied for benefits in the past,” Shane states in hisFor vet article for the Marine Crop Times. “In others, cases that were rejected and later revised could have been backdated to the original filing time, giving veterans retroactive payments.” 1

The inept job from the VA is just another slap in the face for the men and women who served their country between 1953-1987 who are still experiencing a host of disabilities after drinking Camp Lejuene’s contaminated water.

The federal government must be held accountable and do what’s right for the soldiers and their families who put their lives on the line for this country. However, the government has engaged in cover-ups to outright denial of the more than three decades of toxic water Camp Lejeune residents bathed in, played in, cooked with, and drank.

But there is hope.

In 2022, President Biden passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, allowing Camp Lejeune victims to seek compensation and reparations for the damage they suffered.

Call an AVA legal expert today if you or a loved one resided at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 and became ill because of contaminated water.