Family Member Claims for Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

In the early 1980s, Marine Corps investigators uncovered signs of water contamination at Camp Lejeune that could be traced back to the 1950s. They found that drinking water from two water treatment plants, Hadnot Point and Tarawa Terrace, contained volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs include:

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

The Hadnot Point and Tarawa Terrace water treatment plants provided water for barracks and family housing units. This means service members, their families and civilian workers living on the base may have been regularly exposed to contaminated water.

The VOCs found at Camp Lejeune are linked by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and other researchers to numerous health issues. These health conditions include:

• Aplastic anemia
• Bladder cancer
• Cardiac birth defects
• Kidney cancer
• Leukemia
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Other kidney and end stage renal diseases
• Parkinson's disease
• Systemic scleroderma
• Systemic sclerosis
• Certain other diseases/conditions

These conditions, as well as others that may have been caused by Camp Lejeune water contamination, could have a grave impact on both victims and their families. These conditions may be life-altering or even fatal.

The Honoring our PACT Act required people to meet two general requirements to be eligible to file a Camp Lejeune water contamination claim:

1. Individuals must have been exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 for at least 30 days.
2. Individuals must have suffered harm that was as likely as not caused by exposure to the contaminated water or have a health condition that was as likely as not caused by the toxic exposure.

While many veterans have been impacted, some family members exposed on the base and individuals exposed in utero can also file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit. All lawsuits must meet the Camp Lejeune lawsuit requirements for eligibility. Additionally, some people who worked on the base but were not veterans or family members were also eligible to file claims.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), part of the Honoring our PACT Act, allowed victims of Camp Lejeune water contamination or their families to file administrative claims with the Department of the Navy (DON). 

Family members were required to complete a form and return it to the Office of the Judge Advocate General by mail or e-mail to start the claims process.

What type of compensation is available under a Camp Lejeune water contamination claim?

During the initial administrative claim process, the DON may make you a settlement offer based on the nature of your injury and how long you were exposed to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water. The government may offer you a settlement through a manual review of your claim or a framework called the Elective Option (EO).

Only people with certain illnesses who were exposed to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water for certain amounts of time are eligible for the EO. However, the EO payout may be insufficient to cover all expenses incurred by you or your loved ones because of the water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

If you want to pursue justice for yourself or a loved one, you must first have filed an administrative claim with the Department of the Navy before the August 2024 deadline. If six months pass without a settlement for your Camp Lejeune claim, or if the claim is denied, you may then be allowed to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Also, all claimants only have 180 days from the date their claim is denied to file a lawsuit. After that time, your lawsuit may be forever barred.

A Camp Lejeune attorney can help family members of Camp Lejeune victims if they have filed a claim before the deadline. If the claim was denied or the family hasn’t received a response from the Department of the Navy within six months, a Camp Lejeune lawyer can:

• Work to gather relevant documents
• Sue the government on the family’s behalf in North Carolina federal court

Are family members eligible to file Camp Lejeune water contamination claims?

No, family members are no longer eligible to file Camp Lejeune water contamination claims. Before the filing deadline passed, family members were eligible to file claims for themselves and for the estates of their loved ones.

Do Camp Lejeune water contamination claims impact VA claims?

VA claims and claims filed under the CLJA are handled by separate parts of the government. Filing a CLJA claim won’t impact the VA benefits you or your family members may be currently receiving. Any award from a CLJA claim or lawsuit may be offset by the amount of money that the VA has already paid for those injuries.

How to find out if someone was at Camp Lejeune

If you’re unsure if a loved one was at Camp Lejeune, you may request their records through the National Archives. Through the online portal, you may request the following types of documents:

• DD Form 214 (Report of Separation)
• Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)
• Medical and health records

These Camp Lejeune records can help you during the review of your claim or as part of a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit.

What Camp Lejeune records were necessary for a claim?

Claimants didn’t need any documentation to file a claim, but you may need the following types of records as the claim is evaluated or litigated:

• Medical records
• Service records, including form DD214
• Camp Lejeune housing records

Motley Rice has a long history of helping veterans and their family members seek justice for preventable personal injuries and wrongful deaths.

We represent or have represented veterans and their families suing over: 

• Exposure to asbestos and other toxic materials
• 3M earplugs and hearing loss
• EFP roadside bombs manufactured by terrorists
• Exposure to toxins released from burn pits at military facilities

Read more on our work in support of veterans.