The Camp Lejeune Claims Window Has Closed: What Happens Now for Veterans and Families

For decades, people who lived and worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were exposed to drinking water contaminated with industrial solvents and other chemicals. In 2022, Congress passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act as part of the broader PACT Act, creating a path for people harmed by that contamination to seek compensation from the federal government. The law gave people two years from its enactment to file administrative claims — a window that closed on August 10, 2024.

Hundreds of thousands of claims were filed. Many people who submitted claims are still waiting for resolution, and many others have questions about what the closing of the window means for them. This article explains the background of the law, how the claims process works, and what claimants and families should know now.

Background: Contamination at Camp Lejeune

From the 1950s through the 1980s, water supplied to parts of Camp Lejeune was contaminated with chemicals including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), benzene and vinyl chloride. Sources of the contamination included an off-base dry cleaning business and on-base industrial activities and fuel storage. Service members, their families, and civilian workers used the water for drinking, cooking and bathing.

Scientific and government studies have linked exposure to these chemicals with a range of serious health conditions, including certain cancers, kidney disease, Parkinson's disease and adverse birth outcomes. The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes a list of conditions as presumptively associated with Camp Lejeune exposure for veterans' disability benefits purposes.

For many years, legal claims by people harmed at Camp Lejeune faced significant obstacles, including North Carolina's statute of repose and federal immunity rules. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act was designed to overcome those barriers.

What the Camp Lejeune Justice Act Provides

The law allows individuals who resided, worked or were otherwise exposed — including in utero — for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 to bring claims for harm caused by exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune. Legal representatives of people who have died may also bring claims.

Key features of the law include:

• Claims are brought against the United States
• Claimants must first file an administrative claim with the Department of the Navy
• If the administrative claim is denied, or not resolved within six months, the claimant may file a lawsuit
• Lawsuits must be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• The law addresses the causation standard, allowing claimants to show that the relationship between exposure and harm is sufficient under the standards set out in the statute
• Awards may be offset by certain benefits received, such as VA disability or Medicare/Medicaid payments related to the same harm

The August 2024 Deadline

The law required administrative claims to be filed within two years of its enactment, making the deadline August 10, 2024. Claims also had to be filed within 180 days after the denial of an administrative claim if a lawsuit was to follow. The volume of claims filed before the deadline was extraordinary — the Navy received hundreds of thousands of claims, far more than many expected.

For people who did not file an administrative claim before the deadline, the general window under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act has closed. Anyone who believes there may be an exception applicable to their situation should consult an attorney promptly, but in most circumstances the opportunity to file a new claim under this law has ended.

What Happens to Claims That Were Filed

The Administrative Process

The Department of the Navy reviews administrative claims. Given the volume, the process has been slow. The Navy and the Department of Justice introduced an Elective Option, a voluntary settlement program that offers fixed payment amounts for certain conditions based on the type of illness and the duration of exposure. Claimants who qualify can choose to accept these payments rather than pursue litigation. Each claimant must decide whether the Elective Option makes sense based on their circumstances.

Litigation in Federal Court

Claimants whose administrative claims were denied or not resolved within six months may file suit in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The court has established procedures to manage the large number of cases, including organizing the litigation into tracks based on disease categories and addressing common issues such as water modeling and general causation before individual cases proceed.

Litigation of this scale takes time. Expert evidence on how contaminants moved through the water system, how much exposure people received, and whether specific diseases are caused by those exposures is central to the cases.

Questions Claimants Commonly Ask

Should I accept an Elective Option offer?

That depends on your condition, the strength of your evidence, the amount offered, any offsets that apply, and your personal priorities. The Elective Option provides certainty and speed but may result in less than a litigated outcome in some cases — or more, in others. This is a decision to make with full information.

What documentation matters?

Key documentation typically includes proof of presence at Camp Lejeune during the qualifying period (such as service records, housing records or employment records), medical records establishing diagnosis and dates, and records of treatment costs and other losses.

What about family members who were exposed?

Spouses, children and civilian workers were eligible to file claims if they met the exposure requirements. Children exposed in utero are also covered by the law's definitions.

Do VA benefits affect my claim?

Awards under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act may be offset by certain benefits received for the same harm, including VA disability compensation and some health benefits. Receiving a Camp Lejeune award does not, by itself, end VA benefits, but the interaction is complex.

What if the person exposed has died?

The legal representative of a deceased person's estate may pursue the claim, and family members may have related claims depending on the circumstances. Estate documents often matter in these cases.

Lessons About Toxic Exposure Claims

The Camp Lejeune experience illustrates several broader lessons about toxic exposure and environmental injury claims.

Illness Often Appears Years Later

Many toxic exposures cause illnesses that develop decades after exposure. That delay creates challenges in proving causation and in meeting deadlines that may have been designed for more immediate injuries.

Deadlines Can Be Unusual

Special laws may create unique filing windows, as the Camp Lejeune Justice Act did. Ordinary statutes of limitations, statutes of repose, and discovery rules vary by state and by type of claim. Missing a deadline can end a claim permanently.

Scientific Evidence Is Central

Toxic exposure cases depend heavily on scientific and medical evidence — how much exposure occurred, whether the substance can cause the disease (general causation), and whether it did cause the disease in a particular person (specific causation).

Documentation Is Hard but Essential

Proving exposure decades after the fact requires records that may be difficult to find. Starting early and gathering service, employment, residential and medical records is essential.

Other Toxic Exposure Concerns

Camp Lejeune is not the only site where people have been exposed to contaminated water or harmful chemicals. Communities across the country have faced exposure to industrial solvents, PFAS "forever chemicals," lead, pesticides and other contaminants. People who believe they were harmed by exposure should consider:

• When and where the exposure occurred
• What substances were involved
• What illnesses have been diagnosed, and when
• Whether a government entity, employer or private company may be responsible
• What deadlines may apply under state or federal law

Some exposure claims are handled in coordinated proceedings such as multidistrict litigation. Others proceed individually.

Support for Veterans and Families

Veterans with conditions associated with Camp Lejeune exposure may also be eligible for VA health care and disability benefits, which are separate from the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. Veterans service organizations and accredited representatives can help with VA claims. Family members may be eligible for certain VA health care reimbursements for qualifying conditions.

Understanding the Diseases Associated With Exposure

The chemicals found in Camp Lejeune's water supply have been studied extensively. Trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene are solvents used in industrial degreasing and dry cleaning. Benzene is a component of fuel and is a known human carcinogen. Vinyl chloride, which can form as other solvents break down, is also classified as a carcinogen. Health agencies and researchers have examined whether people exposed at the base experienced higher rates of particular diseases.

The Department of Veterans Affairs lists certain conditions as presumptive for veterans who served at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days during the contamination period, which simplifies eligibility for VA benefits. Those conditions have included adult leukemia, aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Parkinson's disease. The litigation under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act has addressed a broader set of conditions as well, organized into tracks so that common scientific questions can be addressed together.

It is important to understand that VA presumptions and the standards in Camp Lejeune Justice Act litigation are different. A condition being presumptive for VA purposes makes VA benefits easier to obtain, but litigation under the Act involves its own causation standards and expert evidence.

How Water Modeling Affects Claims

Because water testing records from the contamination period are incomplete, scientists have used historical reconstruction and water modeling to estimate contaminant levels in different parts of the base's water system over time. These models help estimate how much exposure people likely received based on where they lived or worked and when.

In litigation, exposure estimates matter. A person who lived in a family housing area served by a heavily contaminated treatment plant for several years may have a different exposure profile than someone who worked in an area served by a less contaminated system for a few months. Courts handling the litigation have addressed how this modeling evidence may be used.

For claimants, this means that records showing exactly where and when they lived or worked at Camp Lejeune can be important. Housing assignments, unit records, duty stations and employment records may all help establish exposure.

The Role of Offsets and Liens

One feature of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act that surprises many claimants is the treatment of other benefits. The law provides that awards are offset by the amount of certain benefits received for the same harm, including VA disability awards and payments made under Medicare or Medicaid. In addition, government health programs and some private insurers may have rights to be reimbursed for medical expenses they paid that relate to the claim.

These offsets and reimbursement rights can significantly affect the net amount a claimant receives. Evaluating a settlement offer — including an Elective Option payment — requires understanding how these rules apply to the individual claimant's situation.

Protecting Yourself From Misinformation

The scale of the Camp Lejeune litigation attracted widespread advertising, and some claimants received confusing or misleading information. Claimants should be cautious about anyone who guarantees a specific payment amount or timeline, requests upfront fees, or pressures them to sign documents quickly. Legitimate representation agreements explain fees clearly, and contingency fee arrangements in this litigation are subject to limits set by law and the court.

If you filed a claim and are unsure of its status, your attorney or the Navy's claims process can provide information. Keep copies of everything you submitted and any correspondence you received.

Key Takeaways

• The Camp Lejeune Justice Act allowed people exposed to contaminated water at the base between 1953 and 1987 to seek compensation from the United States.
• The deadline to file administrative claims was August 10, 2024; in most circumstances, new claims under this law can no longer be filed.
• Filed claims may be resolved through the Navy's administrative process, the Elective Option settlement program, or litigation in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
• Awards may be offset by certain benefits, including VA disability compensation.
• Toxic exposure claims generally involve long latency periods, unusual deadlines and complex scientific evidence.

How We Can Help

At Personal Injury Lawyer Pro, our attorneys handle toxic exposure and environmental injury claims and can help people understand their options when exposure has caused illness. If you have questions about a toxic exposure situation — whether involving water contamination, workplace chemicals or another source — contact us for a free, confidential consultation. Some exposure matters require specialized counsel; when that is the case, we will tell you and help you find appropriate help.