Camp Lejeune Bladder Cancer Lawsuit

People are filing Camp Lejeune lawsuits after developing serious illnesses from the base’s contaminated water. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act was passed as part of the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. It provided a brief window of time for Camp Lejeune toxic exposure victims to file claims with the Department of the Navy (DON). The deadline to file a claim passed in August 2024.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act sought to compensate those injured by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the base’s water supply. These VOCs included:

• Benzene
• Tetrachloroethylene/perchloroethylene (PCE)
• Trichloroethylene (TCE)
• Vinyl chloride

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has linked exposure to contaminated water to incidents of bladder cancer in Marines, their family members, and civilian workers who worked at Camp Lejeune during specific dates.

Other conditions linked to Camp Lejeune toxic water

In addition to bladder cancer, the VOCs that were found in the drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune have also been linked to other serious health issues. These include:

• Aplastic anemia
• Cardiac birth defects
• Kidney cancer
• Leukemia
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Kidney and end stage renal diseases
• Parkinson’s disease
• Systemic scleroderma
• Systemic sclerosis
• Other serious health conditions

Deadlines for filing Camp Lejeune bladder cancer compensation claims

The final day to file a claim with the DON was August 10, 2024. Service members, their families, contractors and other workers were required to file claims by the August deadline. Claims not filed by the deadline are forever barred. 

People who have had their claims denied have 180 days from the denial date to file a Camp Lejeune lawsuit. Lawsuits not filed within that time period will be forever barred.

Bladder cancer describes several potentially fatal types of cancers that start in the bladder, including:

• Adenocarcinoma
• Small cell carcinoma of the bladder
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Urothelial carcinoma

Multiple studies, including a 2014 paper in Environmental Health Perspectives, have found a positive association between PCE and an increased risk of bladder cancer. The 2014 paper looked at several studies of people who worked as dry cleaners and found a common link between bladder cancer incidences and exposure to common dry cleaning chemicals. The ATSDR, looking at this and other studies, found sufficient evidence linking PCE to an increased risk of a bladder cancer diagnosis.

In February 1985, high levels of PCE were detected at the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant at Camp Lejeune. The ATSDR further reports that: “Based on the model results, PCE concentration was estimated to have exceeded the current EPA maximum contaminant level of 5 μg/L in drinking water at the Tarawa Terrace water treatment plant for the 346 months between November 1957 and February 1987.”

Bladder cancer symptoms

The National Cancer Institute reports that bladder cancer may have the following symptoms.

If you or a family member were stationed at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, and are experiencing these symptoms, consider speaking with your doctor about your concerns. These symptoms may be signs of bladder cancer related to toxic exposure.

Motley Rice is committed to helping veterans and their families seek justice for preventable harms that devastated service members and their loved ones. We have represented claimants in litigation for:

• 3M earplugs and hearing loss
• Exposure to asbestos and other toxic materials
• EFP roadside bombs manufactured by terrorists
• Exposure to toxins released from burn pits at military facilities
• Veterans or active-duty soldiers harmed or killed in a helicopter or other type of plane incident

Read more on our work in support of veterans.