What Happened at Camp Lejeune?
During the years 1953-1987, water supplies at Marine base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina were contaminated with multiple hazardous chemicals linked to a range of serious health conditions and illnesses, including cancer, birth defects, Parkinson’s disease, and other potentially life-threatening injuries.
More than one million people lived at Camp Lejeune during the time the water was contaminated. This includes active duty and former military service members, families, non-military staff, and others. These individuals drank, bathed in, cooked with, and otherwise came into frequent contact with the contaminated water. The contaminated water also affected people who lived at the nearby Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River during the same time period.
If you, a family member, or a loved one has suffered health effects as a result of the water contamination at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River, you may be eligible to participate in the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit.
What was the water at Camp Lejeune contaminated with?
The contaminated water was primarily found in two treatment plants, the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant and the Handot Point Treatment Plant. The main toxic chemicals discovered in these plants were Tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene or “PCE”) and Trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE and PCE are chemicals that are used in dry cleaning and in cleaning metal parts of machines. There were multiple sources of contamination of these water plants, including leaking underground storage tanks and waste disposal sites.
What illnesses were caused by the toxic
water contamination at Camp Lejeune?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released a list of presumptive conditions related to the toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune. These illnesses include:
- Adult leukemia
- Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Female infertility
- Hepatic steatosis
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Miscarriage
- Multiple myeloma
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Neurobehavioral effects
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
- Renal toxicity
- Scleroderma
How do I know if I qualify for a Camp Lejeune lawsuit?
If you lived at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 cumulative days from August 1953 through December 1987 and are suffering from one of these illnesses, you may qualify. Contact one of our attorneys today to discuss whether you should bring a lawsuit for Camp Lejeune toxic water contamination.
This all happened a long time ago. Why now?
In May 2022, legislators in the United States Congress introduced a bill that would allow individuals who lived at Camp Lejeune and suffer from one or more of these illnesses to file a lawsuit against the United States Government for their injuries.
This bill—the Honoring Our PACT Act—would give injured people two years from the date that President Biden signs the bill to bring a lawsuit. Although the bill has not become law yet, it has already passed both the House and the Senate at least one time each. Our lawyers believe that the bill will pass and become law in the coming weeks.
We are representing former military service members and their spouses and children as well as civilian contractors who were injured by the toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune. Once the bill becomes law, we will file lawsuits for our clients.