Camp Lejeune Lawsuit Update & News February 21, 2024

Latest news and CampLejeune lawsuit update, water contamination – News: February 21st of 2024. When will the Camp Lejeune lawsuit be settled?
  • Camp lejeune lawsuit update-  February 10, 2024-  No jury trials! Camp Lejeune toxic water victims and veterans will NOT be entitled to a trial by Jury according to a panel of four federal judges. The panel of judges wrote a 34-page decision nixing plaintiffs’ attorneys arguments that a trial by jury was the best way for sick and dying victims to get justice in front of a jury of their peers. The victims lawyers argument fell on death ears. The Four judge panel from the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina reasoned, “Congress did not clearly and unequivocally depart from its usual practice of not permitting a jury trial against the United States” when Congress enacted the Camp Lejeune Justice Legislation to offer payouts to victims of the toxic water. The ruling clarifies how trials will proceed in the now sprawling litigation with individual claims being determined by judges rather than federaL court juries. The US Justice Department attorneys argued that judge trials will expedite the complex litigation determining tens of thousands of lawsuits.
  • January 16, 2024- Over 150,000 administrative claims and over 1,500 Camp Lejeune lawsuits were filed.
  • January 15th, 2024-  A renowned data management firm called SimplyConvert estimated that over 85% of the victims wanting a payout for Camp Lejeune do not qualify for expedited elective camp lejeune payouts which range between $100,0000 to $550,000. The elective expedited payouts were part of a government program which was not a settlement, because the victim’s lawyers were not consulted about the proposed payments nor did they agree to the Camp Lejeune payout amounts program.
  • January 1st, 2024-  Victim’s lawyers fight the Justice Departments attempt to ban Jury trials. Attorneys for Camp Lejeune contaminated water Plaintiffs are aggressively challenging what the lawyers describe as “misguided” efforts by the U.S. Justice Department to prohibit Camp Lejeune jury trials in North Carolina Federal Court. In a recent filing, the lawyers in charge of the Lejeune litigation assert that Congress intended to give victims of the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune their day in Court, in front of a jury of their peers. The lawyers wrote, “For decades, the government has ruthlessly evaded compensating the plaintiffs for their years of suffering, lost opportunities, and death—first by covering up the contamination and then by invoking a host of technical legal arguments to evade liability under existing law,”  The  victims’  attorneys  further wrote, “Given that shameful history, Congress undoubtedly wanted to assure CLJA victims that their claims would be heard by a jury of their peers.”
  • November 30, 2023- More than 130,000 administrative claims. Recent paperwork filed with the North Carolina Federal Court indicates that 130,000 camp lejeune water lawsuit claims have been received by the Navy. Surprisingly, it has come to light that only approximately 1,400 Camp Lejeune water lawsuit have actually been filed in Federal Court in Eastern District Court of North Carolina. Camp Lejeune lawsuits may only be filed in the Federal Court in Eastern District Court of North Carolina.
  • November 29, 2023-  Government tries to stop jury trials. The Navy Jag filed a ridiculous and unseemly motion, trying to prevent victims from getting jury trials in the Camp Lejeune litigation. The Navy Jag asserted that pursuant to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, there is no explicit language allowing victims’ the right to a jury trial when pursuing a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit against the United States. The Jag argued that the CLJA language does not “affirmatively and unambiguously” allow jury trials. The United States sought to incorrectly conflate the Camp Lejeune Justice Act with the Federal Tort Claims Act. The Federal Tort Claims act does not usually allow trial by jury. This motion is likely to be denied by the esteemed jurists in charge of the litigation. It is troubling that the defense lawyers would try to deny victims their day in Court in front of a Jury in North Carolina. The attorneys are afraid of the strong possibility of a perfect storm of multi-million dollar Lejeune verdicts in favor of victims. The deck is stacked in favor of the victims, because North Carolina juries are likely to be pro-military and leaning anti- government. To add insult to injury for these Jag lawyers, the government has admitted to liability in the vast majority of these claims. The Jag attorneys and Justice Department lawyers are afraid of runaway jury verdicts which could amount to well over 20 million dollars in some cases and more in Camp Lejeune wrongful death lawsuits. Once there are huge jury verdicts in favor of victims, it will be increasingly difficult for the government to settle the lawsuits with other victims who will demand similar compensation.
  • November 20, 2023- litigation-management database established by Court. Case Management Order No. 2 was entered by the Court, which states in pertinent part,” The Parties have jointly proposed Rubris, Inc. ‘s (“Rubris”) Crosslink platform to serve as a litigation-management database for the Camp Lejeune Water Litigation. The Court adopts the Rubris Crosslink platform for this purpose.For all Short Form Complaints filed after the date of this Order, Plaintiffs counsel shall use  the Rubris Crosslink platform (https://crosslink.rubris.com) to populate, generate, and download Short Form Complaints for filing. Plaintiffs counsel should then file Short Form Complaints downloaded from Crosslink with the Court via CM/ECF in accordance with the requirements in the Court’s Case Management Order No. 2 [D.E. 23].”
  • November 13, 2023 –  Government seeks to establish rules regarding camp Lejeune death lawsuits. The government is attempting to set new rules for Camp Lejeune death lawsuits. The United States is taking a position with the Court, that loved ones of a deceased victim must be appointed by two Courts. The United States is arguing that BOTH a Court of competent Jurisdiction must appoint a personal representative / executor or administrator of and estate and a North Carolina Court must also appoint a personal representative of the estate. The Justice Department is basically arguing that the legal representative of the estate of the deceased victim must commence another ancillary estate in North Carolina. The victims’ attorneys strongly argue against this requirement to open up a 2nd additional estate in North Carolina!
  • November 11, 2023- Three victims settle claims for $850,000 total. Three Camp Lejeune victims have now reached settlements and received payouts pursuant to the expedited settlement elective option program. These three settlements totaled $850,000. Two of the three settlement victim’s were actually paid. The United States claimed that 23 settlement proposals have been made to Camp Lejeune water lawsuit victims.

  • November 10, 2023– Limited cap on Camp Lejeune attorney fees. Some advocates and certain lawmakers agreed with a newly minted Justice Department rule to limit lawyer fees for victims’ who accept the elective Camp Lejeune expedited settlement program payouts. The limited exception only applies to the expedited settlement program, at this time. These restrictions cap attorney fees to 20% for administrative claim payouts and 25% for filed Camp Lejeune lawsuit payouts per person.

  • November 8, 2023 – Victim demands 100 million. One victim requested compensation of $100 Million in his administrative claim with the Navy Jag. This very large demand further exemplifies that the government asserting that victims have sought over 3 trillion in compensation is meaningless.

  • November 7th, 2023-  The status conference scheduled for this date was cancelled by the Court. The next  status conference will be held on November 21st, 2023. Bi-weekly conferences appear excessive and numerous conferences may be nullified.

  • November 4, 2023- The U.S. Navy and Justice Department declared that there have been over 117,000 Camp Lejeune administrative claims filed with the Navy Jag. The total demands combined together are nearly three trillion dollars. The three trillion dollar figure is not a real number because most administrative claims are for over 20 million dollars. Victims will not get over 20 million.

  • October 28, 2023- The U.S. District judges in charge of the sprawling Camp Lejeune lawsuits have set the first status conference with attorneys on October 30, 2023. Read the order here. The Judges have commented that there may be bi-weekly meetings in order to properly manage the complex litigation. The order states in pertinent part, “Until further notice from the court, Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel, the Government Liaison, Co-lead Counsel, Liaison Counsel, or their designees shall appear in person. Other counsel may attend by telephone; dial-in information shall be provided by later order.”
  • October 26, 2023-  The Lead counsel representing the victims and and the U.S. Government collaborated on a status report issued to the North Carolina Federal Court Justices presiding over the now sprawling Camp Lejeune litigation. This status report was concerning settlement negotiation updates between the victims and the U.S. Government. On September 26, 2023, the Court issued Management Order No. 2 requiring the lawyers to “meet and confer regarding a process for global resolution and report status of those discussions to the Court within 30 days from the entry” of the order.” The attorneys complied with that case management order by meeting on September 20, 2023 in Washington DC and issuing the following report:  STATUS REPORT ON RESOLUTION DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN PLAINTIFFS’ LEADERSHIP AND DEFENDANT
  • The status report, indicates that the parties are compiling a questionnaire needed to collect data for the 100 Track 1 bellwether cases. This Questionnaire should help the lawyers value the bellwether cases. The U.S. Department of Justice states that it wants the Justices to make rulings on particular motions, prior to evaluating the value of  bellwether claims. There may need to be certain bellwether claims to go to trial to properly evaluate the settlement value of claims. “The next step for the parties will be to determine the type of documentation that will be needed to answer, or prove, each data field.”  “For example, for the data field regarding duration on base, the parties will negotiate what type of documentation will be sufficient to establish a Plaintiff’s time on base.”
  • October 5, 2023 – A 45-page Master Complaint (PDF) was electronically entered into the Camp Lejeune MDL. The Master Complaint will permit claimants in the future to file an expedited and Short Form Complaint, which adopts and incorporates the master complaint.
  • 9/26/23- THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA SOUTHERN DIVISION issued case management order No. 2 The order states in pertinent part that “Lead Counsel, the Government Liaison, Co-Lead Counsel, Liaison Counsel, or their designees, and counsel for Defendant will be designated and appear in person both to argue motions and actively participate in status conferences. Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel, the Government Liaison, Co-Lead Counsel, and Liaison Counsel may attend any status conference, hearing, or other proceeding in this litigation, even if not designated to argue a particular motion or issue.”
  • September 20, 2023- “Plaintiffs’ Resolution Subcommittee and Defendant met in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2023, to discuss resolution. (3) At that meeting, the Resolution Subcommittee proposed to Defendant, for consideration, a “resolution roadmap” for global resolution, see Exhibit A, which Defendant has not yet agreed to. The Resolution Subcommittee believes it important to have a roadmap with concrete markers to expedite real progress. STATUS REPORT ON RESOLUTION DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN PLAINTIFFS’ LEADERSHIP AND DEFENDANT
  • September 19, 2023- The United States has taken action to restrict attorney fees in the Camp Lejeune water contamination claims. Attorney General Merrick Garland has taken an interest in this issue. Right after the government made settlement proposals to certain victims the U.S Navy as well as the Justice departments modified the settlement proposals, limiting attorney’s fees to 20% for administrative settlements and 25% after a lawsuit was filed.
  • September 18, 2023-  NBC News issued an expose, “Their babies died when Camp Lejeune’s water was poisoned. But justice has been hard to find”, concerning miscarriages and stillborns at Camp Lejeune. Read article here.
  •  09/16/23 – Certain rogue lawyers were trying to upend the Court’s leadership order because the rogue lawyers were displeased with the Camp Lejeune attorney leadership structure set by the Court. This  misguided challenge was completely rejected by the Court!
  • September 7th, 2023:  U.S. Government announces a tiered expedited settlement payout program for victims of the toxic water at Camp Lejeune. The United States Navy and the Department of Justice announced a program of tiered expedited payouts for victims of the toxic water at Camp Lejeune. Read the press release. The Navy and the Justice Department desired to speed up settlement of over 93,000 CLJA administrative claims as well as over 1100 filed lawsuits. According to the Navy and the Department of Justice representatives, no settlements have been paid to victims of the contaminated water. This nascent program will offer payments between $100,000 and $550,000 based on specific illnesses as well as the length of time that a victim was exposed to the toxic water. Acceptance of the funds would be in lieu of further pursuing an administrative claim or a lawsuit. For example, a victim who was on base for greater than five years and was diagnosed with kidney cancer could receive $450,000. A different Lejeune victim who served on the base for less than a year and received a Parkinson’s diagnosis could be entitled to $100,000. A Navy spokesperson stated that “Claims involving death would receive an additional $100,000.”
  • September 5th, 2023- Over 93,000 Camp Lejeune water contamination administrative claims have been filed with the Navy Jag. (Filing an administrative claim with the Navy Jag and waiting 6 months is a prerequisite to file a Lejeune water lawsuit)  Over 1100 Camp Lejeune lawsuits have been filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina Federal Court.
  • September 1st, 2023: Over 20 law firms have faced lawsuits in the past year. These lawsuits assert that certain notable law firms violated the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). These Camp Lejeune law firms include several prominent firms. The TCPA is a national anti-telemarketing law. This law was enacted to prevent corporations from engaging in deleterious practices such as automated dialing, robocalls to texting / calling unwitting victims who did not consent to the communication. There have been over 20 TCPA lawsuits against an assortment of law firm. There are five nascent class actions in five various federal courts against some of the best Camp Lejeune lawyers in the United States. A well known law firm who represents nearly 300 victims who have filed water lawsuits.  According to Court records, the firm reached settlement in three TCPA lawsuits in 2023. A prominent law firm sought to dismiss a TCPA lawsuit related to Camp Lejeune. A West Virginia Justice determined that the plaintiff’s assertions had some meritorious elements. The esteemed judge denied the law firm’s bid for dismissal. For her part, the alleged victim, Diana Mey of West Virginia, asserted in legal paperwork that she was inundated with nearly 15 phone calls from legal marketers linked with the firm.
  • August 30th, 2023-The clerk of the Federal Court has conceded that over 1,100 water contamination victims have filed lawsuits. ZERO CLAIMS HAVE BEEN SETTLED! No Camp Lejeune settlement offers have been made by the Justice Department or the Navy JAG to any Camp Lejeune water lawsuit victim.
  • August 29, 2023- The attorneys for the Justice Department and the lead lawyers for the toxic water victims battled in Federal court concerning dueling proposals regarding how the judges should deal with the likely tens of thousands of Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits. Lawyers for victims victims asserted that the lawsuits must be consolidated to merge multiple victims in a unitary trial. The victim’s lawyers insisted on a trial date in early 2024. The Lejeune victims asserted that they “have waited nearly 40 years to have the right to present their case in Court,” and that “They deserve their day in court without further delay.” The Justice department attorneys begged for more time to prepare their defense. The Department’s lawyers argued that a 2024 starting trial date was only  “possible.” The Justice departments lawyers did not want multiple claims consolidated into a singular trial.  Justice department lawyers argued that, “A determination of whether and in what circumstances multiple-plaintiff trials might be appropriate should only be made after the parties have engaged in discovery,” The Judge will decide the issue in several weeks.
  • August 28, 2023: Lead attorneys were newly established in leadership roles by the Court. These attorney announced that a blog will be established very soon. This website will set forth Camp Lejeune lawsuit updates and keep victims and their families informed of the most up-to-date developments.
  • July 28, 2023- The North Carolina Federal Court jurists in charge of the Camp Lejeune litigation have determined that the leadership team will be comprised of seven lawyer members. The 4 justices of the Eastern District of North Carolina issued an order selecting the lead counsel, liaison counsel as well as the leadership team. These lawyers will be involved in Lejeune settlements, determining the bellwether trials as well as responsible for document production.
  • As of July 22nd, 2023 there have been over 1,100 lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Over 663 lawsuits have not been answered by the Justice department. The Department of Justice, who litigates the lawsuits on behalf of the United States Government, is begging the Judges in the district to hurry a potential consolidation of the lawsuits. Four judges seated in the Eastern District of North Carolina have been mulling over a potential joint order to consolidate and help manage the fast growing litigation. It is expected their will be an avalanche of lawsuits that will exceed 100,000 lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle has been going forward with his cases, individually, despite the positions of the other judges. Judge Boyle appears to be an outlier.
  • On July 19th 2023, The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina issued administrative order #1 which appointed the lead counsel for the Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits.
  • June 30th, 2023 there have been over 70,000 Camp Lejeune water contamination administrative claims filed with the United States Navy Jag. The Navy Jag has made zero settlement offers! Four U.S. District Judges will interview lawyers in July of 2023 to designate top attorneys and law firm to be in leadership roles in the Camp Lejeune North Carolina Federal Court litigation for all victims who filed lawsuits in the soon to be consolidated proceedings.
  • The United States government has not settled any Camp Lejeune lawsuits. The fact that the Navy does not have their act together is totally unconscionable. A Navy lawyer conceded that the United States has not provided proper resources to resolve, process and settle Camp Lejeune toxic water claims. A Navy lawyer Jennifer Tennile Karnes emailed victims’ lawyers in May of 2023 blaming delays to lack of staff and lack of funding.  Attorney Karnes likened the situation to “building the plane in mid-air,” according to a  Bloomberg report.
  • All Camp Lejeune claims commence with the Navy Jag for the 6 month administrative claims process set forth in the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. After the 6 months, victims are eligible to file a lawsuit in North Carolina Federal Court. Once a lawsuit is filed under the CLJA in North Carolina, all claims are administered and handled by the U.S. Justice Department attorneys. The United States government has not not provided adequate resources and staffing to appropriately manage the huge Lejeune claim program.
  • There have been over 900 Camp Lejeune lawsuits filed in North Carolina Federal Court as of May 5th, 2023. The Federal Court Judge overseeing the lawsuits was perturbed and surprised when he learned that the government failed to take any action to settle administrative claims.
  • The Navy Jag only has 5 employees assigned to the Camp Lejeune administrative claims division. This staffing level is woefully inadequate for careful and proper consideration of the Lejeune claims.
  • May 24th, 2023: Judges in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina are awaiting law firm applications from the best Camp Lejeune attorneys looking to serve in assorted leadership positions for a Camp Lejeune consolidated proceeding.
  • “On May 22, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr. issued an order (PDF) calling for attorneys who would like to serve as Plaintiffs Leadership Counsel or on a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee to submit applications to the court no later than Friday, May 26.” about lawsuits
  • A small group of lawmakers representing both Democrats and Republicans from both the Senate and House of Representatives (Congress) requested an update on the toxic water claims. Congress members wanted to know the reason why the United States has not paid victims of the contaminated water. On may 17, 2023 ten congress member sent a letter (PDF) to the United States Justice Department and the Navy Secretary, insisting on answers concerning why Lejeune claims are not being handled appropriately.
  • May 15, 2023: Victims who were exposed to toxic water while working or residing at the Marine base in NC have a 70% greater chance to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as compared to other people serving in the military, as set forth in a scientific / medical study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
  • All victims should do a freedom of information act request (FOIA) seeking their Camp Lejeune housing records. If you were residing in the barracks, there will be no housing records available. These housing records are particularly important for children and spouses of Marines  who were stationed at the base. Many of these Lejeune housing records will indicate that the service member was residing with his or her family at the base. This indication can be used to help prove a spouse or child lived at the base during the applicable time period,
  • A judge in North Carolina Federal Court has approved the Justice Departments’ demand for extended time to respond to newly filed Camp Lejeune water lawsuits. The govenment and victims’ are waiting for an important ruling from the Court concerning whether the Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits will be consolidated or streamlined in some manner to accommodate the rapidly expanding Lejeune litigation.
  • U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III, lead a status conference on April 5, 2023 to look into the status of lawsuits that were assigned to him. During the conference, Judge Dever floated the concept of setting up consolidation of the Camp Lejeune water lawsuits. A consolidated proceeding may be similar in certain respects to a Federal Court Multidistrict litigation (MDL}. The Judge contemplated selecting high powered and influential lawyers to particular leadership positions in the North Carolina litigation. Comparable to a multidistrict litigation, this would lead to greater coordination in pretrial matters. Because of the rapidly growing nature of these lawsuits, it will be crucial that the Court considers efficiency and a more streamlined process. Also, a consolidation would reduce duplicative discovery and allow judges to properly manage the calendars. Judge Dever expressed consternation and frustration about the rapidly expanding litigation and Navy inaction and strongly prodded the Navy to get these claims settled sooner rather than later. He said that the Court lacks the resources with 4 judges to give all victims trials as it would take about 1900 years to have trials in all of the Camp Lejeune lawsuits. He stated that the Roman empire lasted about 1,000 years and it would take longer than the Roman empire lasted to do trials in all of the Lejeune cases!
  • Many attorneys believe that Congress may possibly amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act to limit lawyer contingency fees to 25 percent.
  • The Navy Jag is handling the Camp Lejeune toxic water administrative claims. The Justice Department deals with the claims once a lawsuit is filed in North Carolina Federal Court pursuant to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. The United States government has recently set up a portal for victims to upload supporting documentation for their Camp Lejeune claim. Previously, victims could not submit documentation to the United States government as part of the administrative claims process, but had to certify they had appropriate documentation in their possession.
  • There are four judges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina that are handling the burgeoning number of Lejeune lawsuits that are piling on- since the beginning of 2023. The cases in NC Federal Court, could number in the tens of thousands. The lawsuits could amount to as many as 100,000 or more.
Camp lejeune lawsuit update 2023
Camp lejeune lawsuit update February 8th, 2024

Benefits of consolidation of a Camp Lejeune lawsuit:

  • Avoid inconsistent rulings.
  • Allow judges to manage the litigation and their calendars.
  • Allow lawyers and judges to coordinate.
  • Efficiency
  • Avoid duplicate discovery.
  • prevent inconsistent rulings from various judges.

How many people were exposed to Camp Lejeune contaminated water?

  • There are estimates available that suggest that over a million people were wrongfully exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune from 1953 through 1988.
  • There are various reports that over 50,000 victims were diagnosed with Breast cancer
  • Nearly 30,000 Bladder cancer diagnosis
  • Approximately 25,000 of renal cancer diagnosis,
  • Thousands of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
  • Camp Lejeune toxic water lead to thousands of birth defects and the death of thousands of unborn babies who had in utero exposure.
  • Tens of thousands of other diseases, conditions and health complications such as Multiple Myeloma, Non Hodkins Lymphoma, Liver cancer, Adult Leukemia, Prostate cancer, Aplastic anemia, Esophageal cancer, Ovarian cancer and other cancers.

What types of Camp Lejeune claims are being widely rejected by lawyers?

  • Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) 
  • Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin
  • Melanoma
  • Diabetes
  • All types of skin cancer

Congress passing the law that provides financial compensation for victims of the toxic water at Camp Lejeune has proved to be only part of the picture. Victims must file an actual claim for compensation and receive the money they deserve from the Federal government. In practice, the federal government has been putting up red tape and barriers that could delay compensation. However, victims should not let that keep them from filing a claim for the money that you are legally owed. If anything, the fact that the government is making the process difficult is even more proof that a victim need an experienced attorney to handle their claim. 

How Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Claims Are Proceeding

For over three decades, veterans and their families drank and bathed in toxic water that have caused a number of potentially fatal illnesses. Groundwater sources were located in proximity to several contaminants that are known carcinogens. The result is that veterans and their families have developed the following illnesses:

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

93,000 Claims Have Been Filed to Date with Many More on the Way

There are hundreds of thousands of people who are potentially eligible to file claims for compensation for the illnesses that they have suffered from being exposed to toxic contaminants in their water when they were stationed at Camp Lejeune. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act requires that injured victims and their families first file a claim with the Federal government. It is only once this process concludes that a victim can file a lawsuit in federal court in North Carolina. First, the government must analyze the claim and respond, either by denying it or by making a settlement offer. By September 4th, 2023 there were reports that over 93,000 claims had been filed with the Department of defense. This number is a fraction of the expected amount of anticipated claims. Congress has estimated that the federal government may have $6 billion of legal liability for the toxic Camp Lejeune water. It is now looking like the camp Lejeune exposure will far exceed 20 billion dollars.

The Government Has a Limited Amount of Time to Respond to the Claim

The Department of Defense has six months to review each individual claim filed by victims and their families. Within this period, the government would respond to the claim by either denying it or making a settlement offer. If the government does not respond to the claim by the conclusion of the sixth month. It would be deemed to be denied. Then, the victim would need to file their lawsuit in federal court. Victims are prohibited from going straight to Federal court. They must first exhaust their administrative remedies with the Department of Defense before they can file a lawsuit.

Victims Would Need to Refile Old Claims

One major issue surrounding these claims is the fact that many people filed plans with the Department of Defense more than a decade ago. The Department of Defense denied these claims, both because of the Feres doctrine and the fact that they were barred by a North Carolina statute of repose. The claimants filed a lawsuit in federal court because their claim was denied. Recently, a federal court has dismissed these lawsuits on the grounds that the claimants need to exhaust their administrative remedies before they can file a lawsuit. The claimants had argued that they already filed a claim that was denied, but the court is now making them go through the claims process anew. This now would introduce an additional six-month delay and require the claimants to negotiate a settlement individually with the government. For them, justice is even further delayed after having to wait decades for the right to file a lawsuit.

Camp Lejeune Lawsuit update and news

The fact that the government has gone into federal court to argue that claimants must exhaust their administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit shows that the Department of Defense could take a hard line toward these claims once they are filed. The fact that compensation is available does not mean that the government will fully and fairly compensate people who deserve it. Currently, the Navy is now alerting people who have already filed claims in the past that they need to refile. However, this requirement is making life more difficult for people who need to go through the legal process again.

There May Be a Large Backlog of Claims

There is an additional question of whether the Department of Defense has the capability to process and respond to such a large number of claims within a short amount of time. If the Department of Defense has a backlog and is not able to handle all the claims, the law would force the claimants into Federal court, adding additional time to their cases. Already, many people who have filed claims report that they have not received any acknowledgment of the claim from the Department of Defense months after their initial filing.

Latest news on Camp Lejeune water contamination 2023

The fact that only 70,000 people have filed claims thus far means that there may be a large influx of claims in the future in a short period of time. Claimants have until August 2024 to file their claims, and many of them are in the process of working with attorneys or looking for lawyers in the first place. The Department of Defense may be assigning these claims to existing

JAG attorneys already on their payrolls, as opposed to hiring new people to deal with a large volume of new work. There could be as many as one million claims filed by people who were exposed to toxic water. Camp Lejeune claims are just one of a number of claims that can now be filed with the Department of Defense after the passage of the PACT Act. Veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan also have the ability to file legal claims. In total, the Department of Defense has received over 200,000 claims to date. Thus, the government may be inundated with claims without the ability to respond to each one in time.

Victims May Still Need to Fight for Compensation

How the Camp Lejeune claims have proceeded so far is a reminder that, even though victims won the battle in front of Congress, there is still a further battle to be fought. Camp Lejeune victims have already been through a lengthy legal struggle, and the fact that compensation and benefits are available does not mean that they will actually get it. Even though these victims were legally entitled to benefits from the Veterans Administration, they have had to fight a long battle to get these benefits in the face of the government’s intransigence and inability to handle claims.

If you have not yet filed a claim for compensation, you have a limited amount of time to do so. You should work with an experienced attorney to file your claim and negotiate compensation, knowing that the government may not make this process easy. The passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act was just the first step, and there is an extensive process that must still be followed. Please check back for any new updates,

Sordid past of VA delaying and denying Camp Lejeune claims

A report from the Veteran’s Association Office of the Inspector General determined that the VA botched almost 40% of disability claims filed by Lejeune veterans.  The VA had a history of denying or unfairly delaying Camp Lejeune benefits for more than 20,000 disabled and sick Camp Lejeune veterans. The VA’s Office of the Inspector General asserted that of nearly 58,000 Camp Lejeune VA  claims sent in, since January 1st,  2017, the VA wrongfully denied  over 17,000  claims “prematurely” rather than requesting more information from the claimant.. Additionally,  about 2,300 Camp Lejeune marines who filed claims were  wrongfully denied nearly $15 million in retroactive disability service benefits as a result of being assigned incorrect dates of  onset of disability.

Please check back to this site to see if there is a recent Camp Lejeune lawsuit update. Hopefully we will have an answer soon to the question, “When will the Camp Lejeune lawsuit be settled?”