Camp Lejeune’s water was contaminated from 1953 to 1987 with multiple chemicals which can cause multiple serious illnesses. Recent legislation has allowed those sickened by this water to file litigation seeking compensation for their injuries.
Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one was sickened by the water at Camp Lejeune. You may qualify for financial compensation. We won’t charge you a fee to represent you until and unless we obtain financial compensation for you.
2023 Camp Lejeune Lawsuit Updates & Latest News
September 2023
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.
August 2023
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.
July 2023
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.
June 2023
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.
April 2023
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.
March 2023
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.
January 2023
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.
