Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

Veterans, military dependents, and civilian contractors who worked at Camp Lejeune or lived in base housing at the Marine base between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, might be able to receive compensation, health and disability benefits as a part of the camp lejeune lawsuit, if they are diagnosed with cancer, Leukemia, neurological disorders or other illnesses caused by the toxic water at Camp Lejeune. If legislation progresses as expected in the U.S. Senate, they may also be able to bring a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit.

The list of medical conditions caused by the toxic water contamination, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, includes the following:

• Bladder cancer
• Breast cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Female infertility
• Hepatic steatosis
• Kidney cancer
• Leukemia
• Lung cancer
• Miscarriage
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Neurobehavioral effects
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Renal toxicity
• Scleroderma

Our firm is also investigating Parkinson’s Disease claims. Currently, the federal government has not officially included Parkinson’s Disease as one of the compensable medical conditions, but U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the illnesses and diseases connected to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water include Parkinson’s disease.  Senator Blumenthal has been fighting for tens of thousands of veterans and their family members who have sustained “very legitimate, serious claims for injuries” caused by water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

Hi, my name is Michael Siravo and I am the Managing Attorney here at Parker Waichman.

And I’m a former Marine. I served in the Corps from 1986 to 1990. In that time, I was stationed at Camp Lejeune, among other bases.

We, here at Parker Waichman, handle a host of different types of cases in Personal Injury and Mass Tort, but this particular situation is one that was important to me as a former Marine. Learning that former Marines and their family members suffered these types of injuries, was deeply disturbing to learn about.

I take great pride in the fact that the firm is going forward with these cases, and is trying to get the type of recovery that you and your family deserve.

Our Law Firm is Assisting with the Camp Lejeune Lawsuit

Parker Waichman LLP is a national personal injury law firm which helps its injured clients file lawsuits against individuals, large corporations, and governmental agencies who have acted negligently. Currently, the Camp Lejeune lawsuit is blocked by federal law. We believe that current legislation may change the law, so our Camp Lejeune attorneys are reviewing claims for a potential Camp Lejeune Water Lawsuit on behalf of those who sustained medical health effects from the above-listed conditions. We are happy to work with veterans who:

• Haven’t received disability benefits from the VA,
• Are receiving medical treatment from the VA, but did not apply for VA disability compensation,
• Were denied VA disability compensation, or
• Have not filed a lawsuit related to this issue.

If you believe you or a loved one have been harmed by toxic water at Camp Lejeune, call 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529) for your free consultation with one of our Lawyers.

Toxic Chemicals Found in Camp Lejeune’s Drinking Water

Tarawa Terrace

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), routine water treatment plant testing found some of Camp Lejeune’s drinking water sources were contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride (VC), and benzene.

The Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant, which has provided drinking water to generations of Marines and their families was found to be contaminated with Tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene or “PCE”).  The highest level of Tetrachloroethylene detected in drinking water was in February of 1985.  The levels in February of 1985 reached 215 parts per billion (μg/L).  According to the ATSDR, the source of contamination was a dry cleaner company called ABC One-Hour Cleaners. The most highly contaminated wells were shut down in February 1985.  The ATSDR believes the Tarawa Terrace water treatment plant’s PCE concentration exceeded the current EPA’s maximum contaminant level for Tetrachloroethylene in drinking water (of 5 μg/L) from November 1957 through February 1987.  According to the ATSDR, PCE degrades in ground water to trans-1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), and vinyl chloride.  The levels of PCE and the chemical’s by-products found in the drinking water serving homes in Tarawa Terrace can be viewed at Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Report and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Appendix I5 Report.

The Tarawa Terrace drinking water system was also contaminated with benzene in 1985.  However, the amount of benzene detected was under the 5 ppb (parts per billion) allowed by the EPA.

Hadnot Point Treatment Plant

The primary chemical discovered at the Hadnot Point Treatment Plant was Trichloroethylene (TCE).  The allowable limit of Trichloroethylene in drinking water is 5 μg/L.  However, in May of 1982, the level of Trichloroethylene in drinking water at the Hadnot Point Treatment Plant reached 1,400 μg/L.  Other chemicals found in finished water at the Hadnot Point water treatment plant DCE (trans 1,2-dichloroethylene), vinyl chloride, PCE, TCE, and benzene.  DCE levels reached a maximum of 407 μg/L back in January of 1985. There were reports of benzene contamination in Hadnot Point’s finished in 1985.

According to the ATSDR, there were several contamination sources including leaking waste disposal sites and underground storage tanks.  The most contaminated water wells were closed by February of 1985.

Health Effects Connected with Benzene, Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), Trichloroethylene (TCE), and Vinyl Chloride Exposure from Contaminated Camp Lejeune Drinking Water

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) states that there are many health consequences linked with exposure to benzene, trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and vinyl chloride (VC).  The ATSDR also states that some people who are exposed to chemicals such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl chloride, or benzene will not develop a health problem.

The ATSDR says that the effects of exposure to these chemicals depend on:

• When someone was exposed (in infancy, during pregnancy, etc.),
• How much of the chemical was the individual exposed to,
• How long was the person exposed to the chemical,
• How was the individual exposed to the chemical (drinking, breathing, etc.), and
• What the person’s personal habits and traits are.

ATSDR evaluated sixteen diseases in its report “ATSDR Assessment of the Evidence for the Drinking Water Contaminants at Camp Lejeune and Specific Cancers and Other Diseases.” The report incorporated ATSDR’s Camp Lejeune study findings, and other studies of different populations exposed environmentally or occupationally to benzene, TCE, PCE, and vinyl chloride.

According to its conclusion, the ATSDR identified sixteen severe health effects, where they found satisfactory evidence for causation, in individuals exposed environmentally or occupationally to the chemicals found in Camp Lejeune’s drinking water sources. Evidence is deemed “sufficient for causation” when there is:

• Satisfactory evidence from human studies when confounding, chance and biases may be ruled out with certainty, or
• There is less than satisfactory evidence from human studies, but there is strong evidence that the chemical acts through a relevant mechanism in humans, and there is enough evidence of causation in animal studies.

The following health effects have been identified by the ATSDR.

All health effects with sufficient evidence for causation for TCE include:

• Cardiac defects
• Kidney cancer
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

All health effects with sufficient evidence for causation for PCE include:

• Bladder cancer
• Leukemias

All health effects with sufficient evidence for causation for benzene include:

• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

All health effects with sufficient evidence for causation for vinyl chloride

• Liver cancer

Listed below are the health effects where there is enough research that supports a connection between the exposure and health effect, but there isn’t enough research to conclude that the exposure causes a specific health effect. Additional research would be needed to prove that exposure causes the specific health effect definitively.

Health effects with evidence that is equipoise and above for causation for TCE:

• End-stage renal disease
• Leukemia
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Parkinson’s disease
• Scleroderma

Health effects with evidence that is equipoise and above for causation for PCE:

• End-stage renal disease
• non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Health effects with evidence that is equipoise and above for causation for benzene:

• Multiple myeloma

Listed below are additional health effects that have been connected to benzene, PCE, TCE, and/or vinyl chloride in other populations who drank water contaminated with these chemicals and/or worked with these chemicals.

Health effects with positive findings in at least one study that evaluated exposure to TCE and/or PCE:

• Breast cancer
• Chonal atresia (nasal passages blocked with tissue or bone)
• Eye defects
• Fetal death
• Low birth weight
• Major malformations
• Miscarriage
• Neural tube defects
• Cleft lip and Oral cleft defects
• Small for gestational age
• Cancer
  1. Cervical cancer
  2. Esophageal cancer
  3. Lung cancer
  4. Hodgkin’s disease
  5. Ovarian cancer
  6. Prostate cancer
  7. Rectal cancer
• Impaired immune system function
• Neurological effects
• Neurobehavioral performance deficits
• Severe, generalized hypersensitivity skin disorder

Health effects that have positive findings in one or more studies that examined exposure to benzene:

• Aplastic anemia
• Miscarriage
• Myelodysplastic syndromes

Health effects with positive findings in at least one study that evaluated exposure to vinyl chloride: 

• Brain cancer
• Liver cirrhosis
• Lung cancer
• Soft tissue cancer

Additional information from ATSDR’s Camp Lejeune health studies are available at ATSDR Public Health Activities.

Study Links Parkinson’s Disease with Exposure to Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune

May 15, 2023 – According to a study published by JAMA Network, the risk of Parkinson’s disease is significantly higher among military personnel who were deployed at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina between 1975-1985 where the water supply was contaminated with trichloroethylene (“TCE”) and other volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”).

The results from this cohort study, involving almost 340,500 service members, indicate that Parkinson’s disease risk was 70% higher for veterans stationed at Camp Lejeune compared to those at a Marine Corps base in California that did not have contaminated water. Even among veterans who did not develop full-blown Parkinson’s disease, the investigators found that the risk for several early indicators of the disease were significantly elevated nonetheless.

The findings of this study suggest that TCE exposure from groundwater contamination increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease, raising concerns for the millions of people globally who have been, and continue to be, exposed to this dangerous compound.

The Study’s Key Findings

For decades, military personnel at Camp Lejeune from the United States Marine Corps and Department of the Navy suffered exposure to TCE and VOCs from their everyday drinking water, which contained concentrations of the contaminants exceeding 70 times the allowable limit.  This population-based cohort study sought to examine the risk of Parkinson’s disease among the personnel stationed at Camp Lejeune for at least three months between 1975 to 1985 compared to military personnel stationed at Camp Pendleton in California during the same period where the demographics of the personnel were comparable—but the water supply was not contaminated.

Investigators conducted follow-ups with study participants from January 1, 1997, through February 17, 2021, and conducted searches in Veterans Health Administration and Medicare databases for diagnostic codes related to Parkinson’s disease and forms of Parkinsonism, early indicators of Parkinson’s disease, and related medications. The relevant diagnoses of Parkinson’s disease and Parkinsonism were confirmed by medical record reviews, and for those without Parkinson’s disease or other forms of Parkinsonism, the likelihood of being diagnosed with early signs of the disease was evaluated individually and cumulatively. In total, investigators relied on access to the health records of 158,122 veterans (46.4%)  for analysis.

Having considered all the evidence, statistical models demonstrated that the risk of Parkinson’s disease for Camp Lejeune veterans was 70% higher than their peers at Camp Pendleton.  No additional risk was found for other forms of neurodegenerative Parkinsonism, Camp Lejeune veterans still demonstrated a significantly increased risk of early signs of Parkinson’s disease, including tremors, anxiety, and erectile dysfunction, along with higher cumulative scores for early disease indicators.

Interpretation and Implications

The outcomes of this research indicate that exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune over four decades ago could have significantly increased the risk of Parkinson’s disease for military personnel, as well as hundreds of thousands of family members and civilian workers. This study underscores the pressing need for further exploration into the potential long-term health effects of exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune and establishment of further measures to safeguard the health of the public and those who serve our country.

May I Bring a Camp Lejeune Water Lawsuit Today?

Over time, it has become clear that Camp Lejeune residents have seen shocking patterns of cancer and other health issues. The path to bringing a Camp Lejeune lawsuit has been long and challenging:

• 1942 – Camp Lejeune is established. The base has housed millions of Marines and their families since.
• 1953-1987 – Toxic chemicals enter the drinking water through multiple facilities at Camp Lejeune.
• 1982 – the Marine Corps confirms high levels of toxins in the drinking water.
• 2005 – Veterans and their families began filing Camp Lejeune Water Lawsuits against the U.S. government.
• 2012 – President Obama signs The Janey Ensminger Act, to ensure that Camp Lejeune water contamination victims are eligible for medical treatment. At the time, it is estimated that 750,000 people who suffered from medical issues related to their presence at Camp Lejeune might be eligible under the Act.
• 2016 – the U.S. District Court in Georgia dismisses all claims, determining that they are barred under the Feres doctrine. Under that doctrine, service members cannot sue the government for injuries incurred “incident to military service.” The Court also finds that the unusual North Carolina statute of repose bars a plaintiff from bringing a suit more than 10 years after the cause of injury (i.e., the encounter with the water) occurs.
• March 3, 2022 – the US House of Representatives passes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act as part of a broader legislation. The bill – if passed by the Senate – would allow those injured by exposure to water contamination to bring suit.

If the Senate passes the bill, justice might finally be available. The Feres doctrine would no longer bar claims by service members, their families or representatives who were exposed to the drinking water at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. Old claims would have a new two-year window to file, even if they were previously dismissed under North Carolina law. A Camp Lejeune lawsuit would be viable under the bill.

Who May Qualify for VA Disability Benefits and/or Monetary Compensation?

If you or a loved one had contact with toxic contaminants in the drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina, your claims should be investigated by one of our Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawyers.  According to the federal government, there is scientific and medical evidence showing an association between the aforementioned diseases and exposure to these contaminants.  If you or a family member have qualifying service at Camp Lejeune and are diagnosed with of one of the sixteen medical conditions listed above, you or your loved one might be eligible for disability benefits and/or monetary damages through a Camp Lejeune lawsuit. Though still barred by federal law, recent legislation has made a Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuit a real possibility.

Qualifying for VA Disability Benefits

In order to be eligible for VA disability benefits only, you must have been stationed at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for 30 cumulative days or longer from August 1953 to December 1987, and you were not dishonorable discharged, and you must be currently diagnosed of one or more of the following presumptive conditions:

• Adult leukemia
• Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Parkinson’s disease

According to the VA’s website, military service members who qualify can receive the following benefits:

• Compensation (payments)
• Health care

You cannot pursue a Camp Lejeune lawsuit against the Veterans Administration.

Are Family Members of Military Veterans Able to Receive Benefits?

Yes. Veterans and their family members who were stationed at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River 30 cumulative days or longer between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 may be eligible to receive health care benefits.  Moreover, the VA may reimburse qualified family members for out-of-pocket medical expenses related to the following fifteen medical conditions:

• Bladder cancer
• Breast cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Female infertility
• Hepatic steatosis
• Kidney cancer
• Leukemia
• Lung cancer
• Miscarriage
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Neurobehavioral effects
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Renal toxicity
• Scleroderma

Questions About Filing Your Camp Lejeune Lawsuit?

Parker Waichman LLP has fought for Camp Lejeune victims since 2009. Our firm is currently investigating cases of all types of birth defects, cancers, Leukemia, neurological disorders and other serious injuries linked with Camp Lejeune’s toxic water.  If you or a loved one sustained severe harm from contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River, contact our firm today for a free consultation by filling out our online form or calling 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529). We will put you in contact with the best lawyer for a Camp Lejeune Water Lawsuit or VA Disability Claim.