Illnesses Associated with Camp Lejeune Water Contamination
More than a million people spent time at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, North Carolina between 1953 and 1987. They had no idea that the water they used and drank was heavily contaminated with perchloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), and a range of other cancer-causing chemicals. These contaminants leaked into the base’s water supply from several sources. Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point, two of the base’s eight water treatment systems, had extremely high concentrations of these chemicals, more than a casual exposure.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has been evaluating the health risks from Camp Lejeune’s water since the 1980s.
Continued exposure to contaminated water manifested in serious and chronic diseases in the active-duty military, their spouses and children, and civilian workers at the installation. Many illnesses did not show up until after they left Camp Lejeune. People became seriously ill and died from inexplicable conditions, with no idea how it happened.
Cancers and other serious illnesses are expensive to treat and may require continual care. Some may require a lifetime of treatment without any hope of a cure. By filing a claim for yourself or a loved one, you may be able to recover compensation for medical care and for lost wages and earnings.
Is Your Illness From Your Time At Camp Lejeune?
Many illnesses can be traced to Camp Lejeune water exposure. Some are known as “presumptive,” meaning that just the fact that you were there during the time of contamination may be enough to qualify for a claim without considerable proof.
This is not to say that if you developed a serious illness after being at Camp Lejeune that isn’t presumptive that you aren’t eligible. But the risks of developing serious illness following carcinogenic exposure rise considerably. What you will need are medical records and other proof that you were at Camp Lejeune during the period of contamination.
The Presumptive Illnesses
AS OF June 2023 additional illnesses and conditions have been associated with the Camp Lejeune water contamination –Click here to see more illnesses and conditions.
The VA currently recognizes these conditions as presumptive and linked to Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water:
• Bladder cancer
• Breast cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Female infertility
• Hepatic steatosis (aka Fatty Liver Disease)
• Kidney cancer
• Leukemia
• Lung cancer
• Miscarriage
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Neurobehavioral effects
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Renal toxicity
• Scleroderma
A person who is diagnosed with one or more of these illnesses after spending more than 30 days at Camp Lejeune is presumed to have developed it due to exposure. Veterans diagnosed with one of these illnesses are considered service-connected for the purpose of disability benefits and medical care.
Additional Illnesses
These are conditions that have been identified as also associated with contaminated water from Camp Lejeune, but are not yet considered “presumptive”:
• ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
• Birth Defects, Low Birth Weight, and Fetal Death
• Brain Cancer
• Brain Damage
• Breast Cancer
• Cervical Cancer
• Colorectal Cancer
• End-stage Renal Disease
• Esophageal Cancer
• Eye Defects
• Impaired Immune System Function
• Liver Cirrhosis
• Miscarriage
• Neural Tube Defects
• Neurobehavioral Performance Deficits (i.e. delayed recall and deficits in visual perception), Decreased Blink Reflex, Mood Effects (i.e. confusion, depression, and tension)
• Neurological effects (i.e. delayed reaction times, problems with short-term memory, visual perception, attention, and color vision)
• Oral Cleft Defects, including Cleft Lip
• Ovarian Cancer
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Severe, Generalized Hypersensitivity Skin Disorder
• Soft Tissue Cancer
Many illnesses that aren’t currently recognized as presumptive may be recognized later or can be shown to result from consuming the poisoned water. If you developed a serious illness that does not appear on the presumptive or any other list, you can and should still speak with a disability attorney to file a claim for compensation as soon as possible. See our page on more illnesses and conditions
Contact The Herren Law Firm Today For Help With Your Camp Lejeune Claim
If you or a loved one were exposed to the water at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987 and were later diagnosed with a serious illness, you may be entitled to compensation.
But the law only allows claims for a two-year period, so you must act quickly in order to preserve your rights to file a claim.
For more than 30 years, the Herren law firm has helped veterans and other disabled people with their benefits claims and appeals. We have extensive experience dealing with governmental agencies and the claims that are filed with them.
We’ve helped over 4,000 people, and we can help you as well. Contact us today by calling (713) 682-8194 or using our online contact form our consultation is free, and you won’t owe us a fee until we win your case
