Justice Denied
Justice was previously denied to those who were wrongfully exposed to toxic drinking water, thanks to the North Carolina statute of repose, which prohibits victims from filing a civil lawsuit against a negligent party more than ten years after the last cause of action. By the time most victims had learned about the contamination, the ten-year period had already lapsed.
Jerry Ensminger is a retired marine whose nine-year-old daughter tragically died of leukemia after being conceived, born, and raised at Camp Lejeune. According to ABC News, he first learned of the water contamination in 1997, after wondering for over a decade why his daughter had suffered such a fate.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act
The shortcomings of the VA claims process underscore the need for a civil solution. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which has been added to the Honoring Our PACT Act, was signed into law on August 10, 2022. This law will allow water contamination victims at Camp Lejeune to circumvent the North Carolina statute of repose and file a Camp Lejeune contaminated water lawsuit.
This will also provide affected civilian employees with a means to claim compensation.
Because the class-action lawsuit is still pending trial, there has not been a settlement yet, and speculating on paraquat lawsuit settlement amounts can be tricky. However, your personal injury attorney from O’Mara Law Group will fight hard for the maximum settlement you’re entitled to.
The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012
Jerry Ensminger fought for justice for Janey and the other military families who had been poisoned by Camp Lejeune water. In 2012, his efforts resulted in the passage of a bill named after his daughter, which allowed veterans and their affected family members to receive Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
VA Claims for Camp Lejeune Water Contamination
To receive VA benefits, military personnel and their families must file a claim with the VA. The VA offers disability payments and medical care to Camp Lejeune water contamination victims. To qualify, claimants must prove they lived on the base for at least 30 days during the prescribed period and have a health condition that can be traced back to the contamination.
Disability benefits are available to reservists, guardsmen, and veterans who have been diagnosed with a disabling condition that can be traced back to the Camp Lejeune water contamination. The VA has established a list of eight specific health conditions that qualify for a presumption of service connection. These conditions are as follows:
- Adult leukemia
- Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
While the VA offers health care benefits to most veterans, service-connected injuries and illnesses receive enhanced benefits. The VA provides a presumption of service connection for health care for the following 15 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
VA health care for families occurs in the form of reimbursement for costs related to the care of any of the 15 presumptive conditions.
Despite the severity of the injuries suffered, veterans and their families have experienced extreme difficulty receiving the benefits to which they are entitled through the VA.
Many of the illnesses victims experience are not on the list of presumptive conditions, and according to a CBS News report, only 17.3 percent of applications are approved. This figure was as low as one percent at one point.
