Camp Lejeune Lawsuit Attorneys

An order has been issued by a magistrate judge which prohibits parties from publicly making disclosures or statements regarding ongoing negotiations for a settlement. The order is aiming to prevent parties from talking about settlement talk progress in status reports which are publicly accessible.

Why has this order been issued? These restrictions are aimed at protecting settlement negotiations’ integrity.

Confidentiality will make sure parties are able to freely negotiate and discuss settlements without warning about sensitive details influencing judicial proceedings or becoming public.

Measures like these are usually intended to encourage honest and open communication while settlements are discussed, possibly leading to more fair and effective resolutions. A measure like this can prevent actual or perceived bias, making sure the court is impartial in proceedings.

The August 10 filing deadline is quickly approaching. We’re currently getting more phone calls on Camp Lejeune than ever before, and will not be able to accept any new cases much longer.

For those who have cases and have hesitated to call a lawyer, now is definitely the last chance you have. While we’ll still receive good cases once the deadline passes, unfortunately, we will not be in a position to help. It won’t hurt to make a call.

Again, this represents your last chance.

A group of judges overseeing the Capmp Lejeune litigation and administrative claims have ended up determining that it’s probably necessary to have two settlement masters in order to speed up the lagging process of claim resolution.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act was signed into law in August 2022 and provided individuals who were exposed to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune with a two-year window to seek compensation for cancer and additional ailments caused by the water.

That two-year window closes on August 10 and the federal government has been notified that almost 300,000 people intend on filing lawsuits.

Despite an elective settlement option being announced in September 2023, according to the Navy, only 105 people, representing 0.004 percent of Camp Lejeune claims which have been presented, have received settlement offers.

The special masters assigned have been assigned helping with the facilitation of settlement discussions, but lack the power in order to adjudicate issues which impact litigation.

Meanwhile, the bellwether process in the Camp Lejeune litigation continues, with numerous groups of claims being prepared for bellwether trials which will help to gauge how certain testimony and evidence will be responded to by the Court throughout the litigation.

Despite the Camp Lejeune Justice Act being enacted almost two years ago in order to provide compensation to those sickened by the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, settlement offers have only been extended regarding 0.004 percent of claims which have been submitted.

136 claims have been confirmed by the Navy as eligible for settlement offers, with 105 individuals receiving offers of settlement. An estimated 263,000 claims have been filed.

1,825 lawsuits have been filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, according to a joint status report which was filed recently. Plaintiffs have voluntarily dismissed 21 of these lawsuits, and four of the lawsuits were dismissed due to procedural failures after being filed without attorneys.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act has seen 261,293 administrative claims filed with the Navy.

The judge overseeing discovery in the Camp Lejeune litigation has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that the testimony of Dr. Christopher Portier will be allowed to go forward. The judge ended up finding the testimony of Dr. Portier relevant, and found that the government’s claim regarding undue expenses and burden of attending the doctor’s deposition in the country of Italy was an ill-founded claim. It was highlighted by the court that the costs of travel alone are not sufficient grounds to prevent a deposition, especially considering the potential impact of the testimony by the doctor upon all claimants.

Concerns about international law compliance were also addressed by the court – plaintiffs accepted responsibility for ensuring all legal requirements regarding Italy are met. Thus, the motion by the defendants to prevent the doctor’s deposition was denied.

There is a nonprofit, private institution called the National Academy of Sciences which was founded to give expert advice regarding scientific issues.

This academy did a study, which was sponsored by the U.S. Navy, investigating links between Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water and health problems. A subpoena was served to the academy by plaintiffs which requested this study as well as any related documents. Curiously, the academy has refused to produce the requested documents. A motion to compel is pending and this motion is expected to be heard by the court on Wednesday.

The Senate has passed S.3237 through unanimous consent. The bill seeks to alter the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.

The bill contains a mandate that veterans or their legal representatives need to sign written acknowledgements, provided by their lawyers, which indicate they understand that they may seek advice and guidance on benefits, payments or disability awards from multiple sources, including the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as well as the veteran or legal representative’s congressional representatives. This guidance is free of charge and separate from rights that the Camp Lejeune Justice Act provide.

A new bill going through Congress is proposing to remove a restriction which states cases need to be filed only in North Carolina, allowing for cases to be heard in any courts in the Fourth Circuit.

This bill, if passed, would likely create chaos which wouldn’t help anyone.

It can take quite a long time to file an administrative claim or lawsuit regarding Camp Lejeune, especially in cases involving wrongful death. So, for those of you considering making claims, the deadline of August 10, 2024 is approaching very quickly. There will soon come a point – and we don’t yet know when this point will be – when Camp Lejeune lawyers will no longer accept new cases.

For those of you who have potential cases and aren’t sure if you wish to file them, call an attorney today.

Obviously, we’d prefer for you to call us, but what is important is that you call an attorney who knows the Camp Lejeune litigation in order to discuss the options you have and if you wish to proceed.

In other news, a deposition involving Dr. Christopher Portier, the ATSDR’s former director, is scheduled for May 28 in Italy.

The Department of Justice is trying to argue that the expense and burden of doing this deposition in Italy will outweigh its benefits, arguing that Portier’s involvement in Camp Lejeune studies was limited, and that relevant info is already getting collected through depositions of other ATSDR scientists who were more directly involved.

Testimony from Portier may be very important. The doctor’s critical review of a Camp Lejeune report by the National Research Council highlighted deficiencies, providing a nuanced understanding of health impacts which are possible. The doctor has previously evaluated reports and studies regarding the contamination at Camp Lejeune.

The doctor’s role as the ATSDR’s director means the doctor was privy to scientific interpretations and strategic decisions which shaped the agency’s response to the situation at Camp Lejeune. The doctor’s testimony can provide illumination regarding the agency’s stance on health risks the contaminants posed as well as internal deliberations which informed reports and public statements by the agency.

Judges have rejected plaintiffs’ bid for an immediate appeal of a ruling which prevented juries from determining how much compensation should end up being awarded for injuries that water contamination at Camp Lejeune caused, indicating that an appeal of this decision must wait until bench trials, which are expected to start this year, lead to a final judgment.

Plaintiffs had argued the decision constituted a “controlling question of law” which allowed for substantial grounds regarding differences in opinions. However, the judges indicated the decision did not constitute a “controlling question of law” since it didn’t threaten to end litigation, and that the decision failed to constitute substantial grounds for differences in opinions.

The U.S. government has called for a third track of lawsuits over Camp Lejeune to end up being selected for bellwether trials which will involve claims that the contamination of water at Camp Lejeune caused those at the base to develop hypersensitivity skin disorder, dental side effects, miscarriage, esophageal cancer and a need to have medical monitoring.

In October 2023, a first track of lawsuits was established involving non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, leukemia, kidney cancer and bladder cancer. Then, in February 2024, a second track of lawsuits was established involving breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, kidney disease and prostate cancer.

Plaintiff’s lawyers have argued that the diseases the government has selected for the third track won’t significantly contribute towards resolution of litigation.

Plaintiff’s lawyers submitted their list of illnesses which should be considered in track 3:

• Scleroderma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes/aplastic anemia
• Esophageal cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Multiple myeloma

It seems as if the government is pushing for cases with lower verdicts and cases the government thinks it can win, whereas plaintiffs are pushing for cases with higher verdicts that they think they can win.

1,740 lawsuits have been filed regarding the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. 25 of these cases have seen dismissal – 21 of those dismissals were voluntary.

190,561 administrative claims regarding Camp Lejeune have been filed through the Navy.

40 settlements have occurred regarding Camp Lejeune, meaning 0.021 percent of Camp Lejeune cases have seen settlement.

On April 8, the federal government ended up filing a motion which requested that the court allow bellwether trials which solely focus on diseases which have already been recognized as having an association with Camp Lejeune’s water.

The government is arguing that cases where plaintiffs are claiming multiple conditions or diseases which aren’t already recognized as having an association with the water are complex by nature, requiring more scientific and medical evidence, suggesting these cases should see later trials.

The government is requesting a new deadline to identify what plaintiffs fall into various categories – the time for discovery of expert evidence will see an extension for plaintiffs with multiple diseases.

As of March 26, 2024, 1,662 lawsuits had been filed as a result of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. About 176,662 administrative claims have been filed via the Navy.

With regards to settlements, there haven’t been many. Only 51 cases have thus far been identified by the Torts Branch as qualifying for the Elective Option, including 14 bladder cancer cases, 12 kidney cancer cases, ten NHL cases, five kidney disease cases, four Parkinson’s disease cases, four leukemia cases and two multiple myeloma cases.

Only 21 plaintiffs have thus far accepted offers, and nine plaintiffs have rejected offers.

In addition, the Department of Justice has approved offers regarding 59 claimants whose information was given to them by the Navy. 24 of these offers have seen acceptance, two were rejected, 25 of these offers expired and there’s eight pending orders.

Only eight settlement offers from the Navy have seen payments sent, and only eighteen settlement offers from the Department of Justice have seen payments sent.

This is a very slow pace, considering over 170,000 claims have been filed. It is understandable for victims to be frustrated by this pace, which isn’t the pace intended by Congress.

174,891 administrative claims and 1,633 lawsuits have been filed in the Camp Lejeune litigation.

The United States government agreed to produce muster rolls at some point during March.

Muster rolls, at Camp Lejeune as well as other military bases, record the absence, presence and statuses of military personnel stationed at military basis. Digitized muster rolls are available – these rolls are the result of a project which the VA and USMC conducted between the years of 2013 and 2015.

Access to these muster rolls will allow plaintiffs to prove that they were at Camp Lejeune.

About six months after the elective option was announced in the Camp Lejeune litigation, it appears as if plaintiffs have overwhelmingly rejected the elective option. Only 17 plaintiffs have accepted settlements under the elective option, including five bladder cancer plaintiffs, three kidney disease plaintiffs, five kidney cancer plaintiffs, two non-Hodgkin lymphoma plaintiffs, one multiple myeloma plaintiff and one Parkinson’s disease plaintiff. To put things in perspective, while only 17 plaintiffs have accepted elective option settlements six months after the option was announced, there are over 170,000 Camp Lejeune claims on file.

The Track 2 diseases for the Camp Lejeune litigation have been chosen. They are:

• Kidney disease
• Prostate cancer
• Liver cancer
• Lung cancer
• Breast cancer

These diseases have been chosen as an attempt to identify diseases which, if addressed quickly during trial, may facilitate settlement of illnesses which frequently occur. The idea os for early verdicts or settlements for certain illness groups, providing victims with quicker resolutions, a goal seemingly in mind for judges.

These five conditions seem to make up around 25 percent of the claims made in Camp Lejeune litigation.

The federal government has argued that individual plaintiffs in the Camp Lejeune litigation should be made to establish specific causation regarding their injuries. This argument seemingly contradicts previous statements that lawmakers made, statements which indicated claimants would only have to demonstrate they were exposed to the contaminated water on the base while the water was contaminated, and that the government would then assume their injuries were caused by the water contamination, given how much time passed and how difficult it is to prove that someone was exposed to specific contaminants. Plaintiffs have argued that requiring specific causation would dramatically lengthen litigation and goes against the intentions of President Biden and the United States legislature.

While many are considering the recent news that this litigation will not see jury trials to be disappointing, the news has an upside: trials decided by judges can move very quickly. Multiple trials per week may occur, and pressure is put on defendants by verdicts. If the judges are fair and reasonable compensation is awarded when warranted, the government will be pressured by the verdicts, and this could speed up movement towards a global settlement offer for Camp Lejeune victims.

However, plaintiffs are appealing the order which dismissed jury trial demands in the litigation. The plaintiffs are arguing that this decision raises an important question of law about if the plaintiffs are entitled to a jury trial. This question has a lot of potential for differences in opinion because of its complexity and novelty. Plaintiffs argue an immediate appeal might advance the process of litigation significantly, possibly saving a lot of party and judicial resources.

A request for juries to decide how much damages every individual will end up receiving at trial in the Camp Lejeune lawsuits has been rejected by four judges. This means that every claim which doesn’t settle will end up going before judges, with initial trials expected to start this year. Plaintiffs had submitted their master complaint. That complaint requested jury trials. The United States government then, in November 2023, filed a motion which indicated that each claim’s value should not be determined by juries. That motion argued that the right to a trial by jury is not specifically provided to plaintiffs by the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, and that judges should decide the claims. Judges, on February 6, agreed with the government, determining that the plaintiffs aren’t entitled to trials by jury. Attorneys for the government argue that the trials being handled by judges instead of juries will speed up resolution of claims.

A federal judge in North Carolina said the court is considering holding the first Camp Lejeune trial as soon as April 2024.

A new ATSDR report should be released soon, and it could be very impactful. It has been described as “ground-breaking” by an epidemiologist. There may be additional “tier 1” cancers following the release of the report.

Plaintiffs in the Camp Lejeune litigation have filed a motion seeking partial summary judgment. They have asked judges to establish that claimants only need to prove they were at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days while the water was contaminated with chemicals which are known to cause the injury they suffered. The plaintiffs claim that requiring claimants to establish that the specific injuries they suffered were caused by being exposed to specific chemicals would greatly elongate the litigation process, and runs contrary to the intentions of President Biden and the United States legislature during the enactment of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. There are at least 158,252 Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims on file with the Navy as of January 16, 2024. Parties are currently in the process of selecting 100 bellwether trials which will involve claims involving injuries such as kidney cancer, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease and leukemia.

On January 24, a hearing will occur in Raleigh. In court, discussions will occur about the potential to reach an intermediate settlement regarding 40 lawsuits over the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. Lawyers have been advised to consult with clients prior to the hearing and clarify stances regarding settling cases.

It is always encouraging to hear talks of settlements. However, there are over 100,000 Camp Lejeune cases. It will take way too long to settle them all only 40 cases at a time.

The United States government has indicated that settlement payouts regarding Camp Lejeune have been issued regarding six claims, totaling around $1.5 million. The claims alleged that individuals were injured by contaminated water at the U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina. Over 147,000 claims have been presented thus far.

A U.S. judge has ordered plaintiffs in the Camp Lejeune litigation to provide their Social Security numbers and birth dates in their lawsuits. Many plaintiffs have an understandable reluctance to turn this information offer, as this litigation has seen identity theft scams. However, by providing this information, plaintiffs will let the government perform quicker investigations of claims, moving the litigation along more quickly. Call us today for a free consultation if you’re wondering if a request for your personal information connected to Camp Lejeune litigation is an identity theft scam or not.

257 cases have been filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act since September.

Lawyers representing Camp Lejeune plaintiffs are indicating that the federal government is attempting to illegally stop Camp Lejeune cases from being tried before juries, urging judges who preside over Camp Lejeune litigation to reject these efforts. In November, the United States government filed a motion which claimed that the Camp Lejeune Justice Act merely provides “appropriate relief” for those injured, arguing this means that because the law doesn’t specifically allow jury trials, the trials should be held before judges rather than juries. A motion filed in response by plaintiffs argues that the CLJA “expressly recognizes” the right for Camp Lejeune victims to have a trial before a jury, claiming that the government motion “misinterprets Supreme Court precedent.”

According to a joint status report which was filed on November 11 by the U.S. government and plaintiffs’ attorneys, around 129,158 Camp Lejeune claims have been submitted to the United States Navy for settlement discussions and review. The claims seek compensation for injuries caused by the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

It has been reported by the United States Department of Justice that three settlements have been agreed upon, totaling $850,000. There are three claimants and two of them have already received their settlements.

On November 7, a Camp Lejeune lawsuit was filed which demanded $100 million.

The first status conference meeting in the Camp Lejeune civil litigation is now set for October 30 at 11 AM in Greenville, North Carolina. The meeting will involve discussions between lawyers and the judge regarding the status and number of actions filed, the status regarding claims filed with the Navy, agreements made between parties, information gathered or shared, and progress towards reaching a solution for individual cases or all of the cases.

The number of administrative claims filed with the Navy now stands at 93,000, and around 1,100 lawsuits are now pending in North Carolina’s Eastern District. Potential exists for the amount of lawsuits to increase to one million. Lawsuits allege the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune caused nearly 40 diseases.

On September 6, the U.S. Department of the Navy and the U.S. Department of Justice announced they have finalized an elective option which will help veterans, as well as others, who were exposed to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, receive compensation for some diseases more quickly.

On September 7, the federal government notified judges of an elective option for victims of Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water and provided details about opportunities for settlements.

The elective option will offer settlements which will range from $100,000 to $550,000. The settlements will be for those who suffered specific ailments which have been linked to the water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

Those specific ailments have been divided into tier 1 and tier 2 ailments. Tier 1 ailments are considered to be backed by scientific evidence that causal link exists between the ailment and Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water. Tier 2 ailments are considered to have research behind them supporting a link between the ailment and the contaminated water, but not enough research to definitively conclude that a causal link exists.

The tier 1 ailments are:

• Bladder cancer
• Leukemias
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Liver cancer
• Kidney cancer

The tier 2 ailments are:

• Systemic scleroderma
• Systemic sclerosis
• End stage renal disease
• Kidney disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple myeloma

Those with tier 1 ailments will end up with $150,000 if they were exposed to the contaminated water for 30 days to a year, $300,000 if they were exposed for one to five years, and $450,000 if they were exposed for over five years.

Those with tier 2 ailments will end up with $100,000 if they were exposed for 30 days to a year, $250,000 if they were exposed for one to five years and $400,000 if they were exposed for over five years.

Women who lived at Camp Lejeune while its water was contaminated are frustrated that complications of pregnancies have been left out of the Camp Lejeune elective settlement option. The mothers feel as if they were left out of the legal process, their struggles ignored. A cemetery at Camp Lejeune is often called “Baby Heaven” because so many babies have died or ended up stillborn at the military base. The U.S. government said that claims involving cardiac birth defects include many different illnesses which are hard to evaluate in a similar manner without an investigation which is fact-intensive.

Plaintiffs and the government are at odds as to which diseases to include in the first trial group in the Camp Lejeune litigation. The plaintiffs wish to include non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, leukemia, kidney cancer and bladder cancer. The government wishes to include only Parkinson’s disease, leukemia and kidney cancer. This is significant because cases included in the first trial group will probably settle faster than other cases.

Over 70,000 administrative filings have been received by the Navy. A settlement offer has not yet been made regarding the administrative level. Less than 20 percent of cases filed in court have been responded to by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ asked judges to quicken plans for case consolidation to assist in dealing with the volume of Camp Lejeune cases.

On July 28, 2023, lawyers for plaintiffs and the United States government reported they met twice over the last two weeks. They reported they expect to submit, by August 28, 2023, a proposed Global Case Management Order. The order will address master complaint filing, master responsive pleading deadlines as well as other deadlines regarding discovery and bellwether trials.

On July 19, 2023, judges issued an order appointing nine lawyers to serve in leadership positions in Camp Lejeune litigation. One lawyer has been assigned as lead counsel, one has been assigned as government liaison’s co-lead counsel, five lawyers have been assigned as co-lead counsel and two lawyers have been assigned as liaison counsel.

Estimates project that over 60,000 claims have been filed so far with the Navy. However, a lot of these claims are now being moved into the courts because the Navy is falling behind in processing the claims. Settlement offers haven’t yet been made regarding the process of administration. The Eastern District of North Carolina is now preparing for a huge influx of Camp Lejeune cases.

As of April 2023, over 25,000 claims have been filed. Plaintiff lawyers filed a motion in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina asking for Camp Lejeune lawsuits to be coordinated while pretrial proceedings take place, or consolidated before a single judge.

A research article was published noting that TCE, a chemical which polluted Camp Lejeune’s water, has been linked with a 500% increase in the chance of developing Parkinson’s disease.

As of January 2023, over 15,000 claims have been filed. Navy JAG has a 6-month period to respond as part of their administrative claims process. Therefore, they have until February 11, 2023 to respond to the first claims which have been made since the Camp Lejeune Justice Act/ PACT Act was signed into law on August 11, 2022.