Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Case: More Than Half a Million Claims Filed With US Navy

Signage stands on the main gate to Camp Lejeune Marine Base outside Jacksonville, N.C., on April 29, 2022. Allen G. Breed/AP Photo

The U.S. Department of the Navy has received more than half a million claims from people seeking compensation for injuries suffered after being exposed to harmful chemicals at Camp Lejeune.

In 1982, the U.S. Marine Corps discovered that drinking water at Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, was contaminated with certain chemicals. Out of the eight water distribution systems at the base, three of them that supplied water to the majority of family housing units “were contaminated with volatile organic compounds,” according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry. Contaminants included trichloroethylene, which is linked to cancer, and benzene, which can hamper cell processes.

Water supply wells were contaminated by several sources, including waste disposal sites, industrial area spills, and leaking underground storage tanks. One of the treatment plants was found to have been contaminated by a dry cleaning company, located off base, disposing waste into the water.

“As many as one million military and civilian staff and their families might have been exposed to the contaminated drinking water,” the agency said. In August 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), allowing people who suffered injuries via such exposure to receive compensation.

Affected individuals were required to first file an administrative claim with the U.S. Navy before they filed a lawsuit on the matter. All lawsuits go to a single federal court in North Carolina.

In an Aug. 20 court filing, the federal government said that the Navy had received about 546,500 administrative claims on the matter.

The navy identified “several thousand duplicate CLJA claims,” which it intends to remove immediately, according to the filing.

Between Feb. 11, 2023, and Aug. 20, 2024, a total of 2,037 lawsuits have been filed in court. Four judges are handling more than 500 cases each. The Camp Lejeune lawsuit is likely to become one of the biggest personal injury cases in the United States.

Compensation Claims

Claims for compensation can be made by military service personnel, civilian workers, or their families who were exposed to chemicals in Camp Lejeune’s water for a period of at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987, according to the Camp Lejeune Claims Center, which advocates for victims of the incident.

Once the Navy receives an administrative claim, it has 180 days to decide its validity. If the claim is denied or a decision is not made within the 180-day period, victims can file a federal lawsuit.

In September 2023, the U.S. Justice Department and the Navy announced an “Elective Option” (EO) for victims to resolve their claims. This is applicable to people who do not wish to pursue lawsuits.

Claimants suffering from kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and bladder cancer would receive settlements in a range of $150,000 to $450,000 depending on the period of the exposure.

People with multiple myeloma, Parkinson’s disease, kidney disease (end-stage renal disease), and systemic sclerosis/systemic scleroderma would receive between $100,000 and $400,000.

Claims that involve the death of a victim would get an additional $100,000.

As of July this year, 79 EO offers and 59 payouts totaling $14.7 million have been made, the center states.

The deadline for filing claims under the CLJA has expired.

Government Delays, Jury Issue

There have been allegations of government delays plaguing the lawsuit. Ronald V. Miller Jr., a lawyer at Miller & Zois representing victims in the case, said lawyers of many plaintiffs are complaining that the government has “not produced the necessary materials” relevant to the case.

“Witnesses have indicated they possess relevant records, but these have not been provided, causing significant delays in discovery and depositions,” Miller wrote in a post at the Lawsuit Information Center.

“The plaintiffs argue that the government’s failure to comply with document requests is creating an unfair disadvantage and request a court order to mandate the release of all non-privileged documents and a log of any documents withheld.”

Plaintiffs also do not have access to a jury. All trials in the case are set to be decided by judges, who agreed with the government that the law allowing the claims did not permit jury trials.

Some lawmakers have criticized the long delay in resolving the case. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), one of the sponsors of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, said that the bill was designed to provide compensation for these victims.

He said he was surprised to see that the government was fighting the cases and attempting to resolve them as cheaply as possible, calling the settlement offers “embarrassingly small.”

In a statement, a Department of Justice spokesperson said, “Although the Camp Lejeune Justice Act created a litigation scheme, rather than a compensation scheme, the Justice Department, alongside our partners at the Department of Navy, has engaged in significant efforts to resolve these claims efficiently.”

In May, a group of lawmakers introduced the bipartisan Camp Lejeune Justice Corrections Act to “bring justice” for victims, according to a statement.

The bill seeks to address “unforeseen consequences of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act by clarifying the right to jury trials, capping attorneys’ fees, and expanding jurisdiction to alleviate the backlog of cases.”

Reuters contributed to this report.