Were You at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987?
Have You Been Diagnosed With a Serious Illness?
Between 1953 and 1987 there were hundreds of thousands of Marines, civilians and dependents exposed to a variety of contaminants at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The toxins in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune have been linked to a number of cancers and other serious illnesses that veterans, civilian workers and family members have endured for decades and continue to suffer from.
The contamination issues at Camp Lejeune are the largest human exposure to TCE from drinking water in this nation's history.
Are you eligible to participate in the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit?
About the Attorneys
Talk to a Marine About Your Case!
Our legal team focusing on this case is led by attorneys Justin T. Green and Doug B. Abrams.
Justin served in the Marines and deployed during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-91. He then attended law school and since the mid-90s has been fighting for victims at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs’ law firms. Kreindler’s team of attorneys includes five lawyers with military backgrounds, including partners who served as pilots in the Army, Navy and Marines and have successfully represented many veterans and their families.
Attorney Doug Abrams is a partner with the Raleigh, NC law firm, Abrams & Abrams, P.A. Doug first looked into injuries from Camp Lejeune’s toxic water back in 2002, over twenty years ago. Finally, with the passing of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act 2022, Marines and veterans are no longer barred from suing the federal government for injuries suffered from this egregious toxic exposure.
Kreindler’s vast experience in toxic torts and pursuing federal litigation, combined with Abrams’ extensive knowledge representing injured victims in the Eastern District of North Carolina provides for a powerful legal team focused on prosecuting these serious claims.
Camp Lejeune Background Info
Camp Lejeune was opened in 1941. Scientists claim that by the 1950’s numerous water wells at the location had become tainted by fuel, chemicals and solvents seeping into the groundwater, then the wells which supplied the water treatment systems, and ultimately into the water for drinking, washing, laundry and bathing. Camp Lejeune’s size at the time was approximately 170 square miles, roughly the same size in area as cities like Raleigh, New Orleans, or Detroit. On any given day, there might have been 100,000 military service personnel, military families and civilian workers on the premises at Camp Lejeune - living, training and working. Camp Lejeune’s water system produced about 7 million gallons of drinking water each day - extracted from over 100 water supply wells, treated at eight different water treatment plants, and distributed to the residents and workers through a network of water distribution system pipelines. By 1989, numerous wells at Camp Lejeune were taken out of use and 3 of the 8 water treatment facilities were shut down.
Who qualifies?
All individuals, who were exposed to water at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 for 30 days (consecutive or non-consecutive) including:
- Marines and other Armed Services Members Residing at Camp Lejeune
- Civilian Workers
- Families and Dependents
- Other Residents
Were you there for 30 consecutive or non-consecutive days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987?
In order to be eligible for compensation per H.R.6482 Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, qualifying individuals must have spent a minimum of 30 days (consecutive or non-consecutive) serving, working or living at Camp Lejeune.
Have you been diagnosed with a qualifying illness?
There are numerous forms of cancer and other serious illnesses that studies have linked to exposure to the toxins found in the water at Camp Lejeune. Some illnesses are linked more strongly than others, but as in all civil litigation, there are no guarantees yet regarding compensation from the government for any specific cancer or illness.
These include (listed alphabetically, along with the toxin(s) most closely linked to the illness by ASTDR, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry):
- Aplastic Anemia and other Myelodysplastic Syndromes (TCE)
- Bladder Cancer (PCE)
- Brain Cancer
- Breast Cancer - Female
- Breast Cancer - Male
- Cardiac Birth Defects (TCE)
- Esophageal Cancer
- Female Infertility
- Hepatic Steatosis - Fatty Liver Disease
- Kidney Cancer (TCE)
- Kidney Disease - End-stage renal disease (TCE, PCE)
- Leukemia (Benzene, TCE)
- Liver Cancer (Vinyl Chloride, TCE)
- Lung Cancer (PCE)
- Miscarriage (PCE)
- Multiple myeloma (TCE)
- Neurobehavioral Effects - Dementia
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (TCE, PCE, Benzene)
- Parkinson’s Disease (TCE)
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Rectal Cancer
- Systemic Sclerosis/Scleroderma (TCE)
How can I file a claim for compensation?
Claims must be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina by an attorney to be eligible for compensation for illnesses suffered as a result of exposure to the toxic chemicals in the water at Camp Lejeune.
However, prior to filing suit in North Carolina, the Act requires that we file an administrative claim on behalf of the client with the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy’s Tort Claims Unit (TCU) in Norfolk, VA. This allows the Navy to investigate the claim and attempt to settle it without litigation. Once the Navy denies the claim in writing, then we can file a lawsuit in court.
It is imperative that claims be properly filed in accordance with all relevant Federal and North Carolina regulations. Any mistakes made in the process of making a claim based on the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 can have serious consequences that could delay or limit recovering any compensation from the Navy or the federal government.
Additionally, the Navy JAG website (Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps) posts that “Claims previously denied under the Federal Tort Claims Act involving water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC must be re-filed for consideration” meaning that even if you already have been denied a claim previous to this 2022 Act, you must start the process over - filing an administrative claim with the Navy’s Tort Claims Unit.
History of Water Contamination at Camp Lejeune
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), an independent agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Marine Corps discovered specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the drinking water from 2 of the 8 water treatment plants located on Camp Lejeune in 1982.
The 8 water distribution systems that have or currently supply water to family housing and other facilities at Camp Lejeune are:
- Hadnot Point
- Tarawa Terrace
- Holcomb Boulevard
- Courthouse Bay
- Rifle Range
- Onslow Beach
- Montford Point/Camp Johnson
- New River
According to the ASTDR, 3 water distribution plants — Hadnot Point, Tarawa Terrace, and Holcomb Boulevard — “have historically supplied finished water to the majority of family housing units at the Base and were contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs).”
What toxic chemicals were found in the drinking water?
Both residential and training area water supplies contained the following chemicals:
- Trichloroethylene (TCE)
- Perchloroethylene/Tetrachloroetehylene (PCE or PERC)
- Vinyl Chloride
- Benzene
How did the water become contaminated by these toxic chemicals?
The toxins in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune have thus far been traced to 3 sources:
- ABC One Hour Dry Cleaners: (PCE) From 1964 to 2005, ABC One-Hour Cleaners near Camp Lejeune (2127 Lejeune Boulevard) served as a small family-owned dry-cleaning business. The business improperly released its drycleaning waste chemicals into the soil and groundwater through its septic tank system. The area was designated as an EPA Superfund cleanup site in 1989 and the cleaners ceased all operations in 2011. The 3 business buildings have since been demolished.
- Leaking Underground Fuel Storage Tanks: (TCE) The Hadnot Point Fuel Farm (HPFF) was constructed on the Southeast corner of Holcomb Blvd and Ash Street sometime in 1941. The fuel farm was comprised of 14 fuel tanks buried in the ground and 1 large 600,000 gallon tank located above ground. The fuel farm was located upgrade 1,200 feet from potable water well HP-602. A 1979 fuel leak allowed 20,000 – 30,000 gallons of fuel to drain into the ground at the Hadnot with no documented attempts to remediate or recover the fuel until at least 1989. A 1988 monitoring report described a 15-foot layer of fuel floating on top of the water table a few feet below the surface of a fuel farm.
- Cleaners and Degreasers: Routinely used to clean and degrease aircraft, vehicles and equipment, solvents routinely ended up in the groundwater and subsequently the wells.
The Holcomb Boulevard water supply was contaminated by the intermittent supplementation by water supplied from the contaminated Hadnot Point water treatment plant during dry periods from 1972-1985.
What areas on Camp Lejeune were served by these treatment plants?
Hadnot Point
- Mainside barracks
- Hospital Point family housing
- Midway Park family housing until June 1972
- Paradise Point family housing until June 1972
- Berkeley Manor family housing until June 1972
Tarawa Terrace
- Tarawa Terrace family housing
- Knox trailer park
Holcomb Boulevard
- Midway Park family housing
- Paradise Point family housing
- Berkeley Manor family housing
- Watkins Village family housing
- Tarawa Terrace family housing after March 1987
Kreindler’s Work on Toxic & Environmental Cases
Kreindler has successfully litigated complex environmental injury claims including cases involving medical complications from mold, lead, asbestos, hazardous chemicals, pollution, and toxic waste. And no firm has helped more people who suffered death and illness following the September 11th attacks and the subsequent toxic exposure that covered Lower Manhattan than Kreindler. Our attorneys work to get justice for victims and hold offending companies and other entities accountable when they put the public at risk of serious injury and death.
Our Toxic & Environmental litigation practice includes:
About Kreindler
Since 1950, Kreindler & Kreindler has served as leading counsel in a large majority of commercial aviation disaster lawsuits. Our attorneys have helped thousands of victims and their families gain a sense of closure, justice, and financial security following a tragic event. Our firm has the resources to dig deep and challenge large international companies with a focus on legal, environmental, and medical issues.
Kreindler lawyers possess deep compassion and a great understanding of the impact a toxic environmental injury can have on a victim’s life. We will put to use all our resources to take on large, powerful defense firms to secure and maximize compensation on behalf of our clients.
Visit our other Camp Lejeune pages for more information:
Disclaimer:
Abrams & Abrams, P.A., 1526 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, North Carolina in association with Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, 485 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York is responsible for this attorney advertising.
Kreindler attorneys are not licensed to practice in North Carolina. Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims and causes of action that Kreindler & Kreindler LLP investigates and pursues are strictly limited to federal law tort claims exclusively created under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. Kreindler attorneys are licensed to practice law in the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Arizona, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
Abrams & Abrams, P.A. attorneys are licensed to practice law in North Carolina and South Carolina.