Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuits

If you or a loved one was stationed or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and have recently been diagnosed with cancer or another life-altering ailment, you could be entitled to financial compensation for loss of income, medical bills, pain, and suffering.

A Timeline of Events for Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

Located in the southeastern section of the state in Onslow County, construction on Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base was officially completed in 1942 and seemingly operated without issue until the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point water treatment plants were built a decade later. Initially intended to provide clean drinking water to the town of Tarawa Terrace, the Hadnot Point neighborhood, and the subsequent surrounding areas including Camp Lejeune, these two facilities are responsible for distributing a majority of the contaminated water that contained cancer-causing carcinogens. In fact, authorities with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) believe that these dangerous chemicals were present in the base’s drinking water just a few years after they went into operation due to an off-site dry cleaning facility’s improper disposal of industrial-strength cleaning solvents like perchloroethylene (PCE) which seeped into the soil.

It wasn’t until 1982, approximately 30 years later, that the United States Marine Corps themselves finally researched and tested the tainted water at Camp Lejeune. Their results indicate that in addition to perchloroethylene (PCE), several other toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were found in the contaminated water, including benzene, vinyl chloride (VC), and trichloroethylene (TCE).

Debilitating Diseases Caused by Contamination Camp Lejeune Water

According to recently released legal documents and lawsuit motions filed by multiple personal injury and toxic exposure lawyers, close to 1,000,000 military personnel, outside contractors, and family members who lived or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from August 1953 through December 1987 have been diagnosed with a wide variety of life-threatening illnesses stemming from consuming drinking water contaminated with cancer-causing agents and toxins. These diseases include:

• Adult leukemia
• Aplastic anemia
• Birth defects
• Bladder cancer
• Breast cancer
• Cardiac defects
• Esophageal cancer
• Female infertility and miscarriages
• Hepatic steatosis
• Kidney cancer
• Leukemia
• Liver cancer
• Lou Gehrig's disease
• Lung cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Neurobehavioral issues
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Parkinson’s disease
• Renal toxicity and failure
• Scleroderma

Groundbreaking Legislation: PACT Act / Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022

In one of the largest expansions of health care for U.S. veterans in three decades, the newly passed PACT Act spearheaded by comedian and activist John Stewart and named in honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson will allocate nearly $300 billion in federal funding for new financial benefits for veterans who are currently suffering from illnesses caused by toxic burn pit smoke in Afghanistan & Iraq, Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War, as well as several other situations where members of the military have been exposed to deadly, disease-causing chemicals and carcinogens. Tied into the PACT Act is the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 which will allow water contamination victims and their living relatives to pursue legal claims against the federal government.

Do I Qualify for a Camp Lejeune Legal Claim?

In order to receive financial assistance and/or compensation, water contamination victims must meet the following criteria:

1. You or a family member either worked or lived at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987.
2. You or a family member consumed the contaminated drinking water.
3. You or a family member have been diagnosed with any of the aforementioned cancers or conditions.

Hiring a Camp Lejeune Contamination Lawyer

If you, a loved one, or someone you know lived or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and were exposed to contaminated drinking water that caused cancer or another deadly disease, you should seek out a dedicated and reliable attorney like James O. Cunningham as soon as possible. You may be able to recover wages from missed time at work, money for mounting medical bills, or a substantial payment for pain, suffering, and emotional distress.

Since 1977, Florida personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham has been compassionately fighting for the rights of victims who have been diagnosed with cancer as the result of a toxic chemical exposure. If you would like to schedule an appointment to discuss the details of your Camp Lejeune case, please contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY for a free 30-minute case evaluation.