Camp Lejeune Lawsuit For Water Contamination Bill Pending

President Biden may soon be able to sign legislation that would allow more than a million U.S. marines and their families access to Camp LeJeune water contamination lawsuits. These lawsuits concern injuries from drinking or bathing on base water between 1953 and 1987.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act passed in March at the U.S. House of Representatives. It now looks likely that it will pass through the U.S. Senate. This allows veterans and their families to pursue claims previously barred under the statute of limitations for injuries sustained over decades of prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals.

The bill, if passed, would allow Camp LeJeune plaintiffs to file lawsuits against anyone who was exposed to water at the base for at most 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987. This includes individuals who lived or worked on the base as well as women whose babies were exposed to the water while they were pregnant. The legislation would also prohibit the U.S. government’s ability to assert a qualified immunity defense against the claims.

Between 1953 and 1987, water contamination at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, caused cancers, birth defects and other side effects in U.S. Marines.Examine a Case

Experts believe that more than one million Marines and their families were exposed to toxic chemicals while living on or near the base. This is largely due to chemicals from laundry services and underground storage tanks that escaped into the local water supply.

The water contained toxins that were nearly 4,000 times more than what is safe for human consumption. They have been linked with bladder cancer and breast cancer, as well as lung cancer, leukemia and miscarriages.

Camp LeJeune water contamination is believed to have caused more than 50,000 cases each of breast cancer and bladder cancer, as well as 28,000 cases of bladder cancer and 24,000 cases respectively of renal cancer.

Over the years, at least 850 plaintiffs filed lawsuits against the U.S. government seeking damages of more than $4B in damages for Camp LeJeune water. However, most potential claimants have been denied their claims by the North Carolina statute of limitations and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Both have repeatedly denied veterans and their families access to health care.

Although the bill is supported by both parties, many predict that changes will be needed to pass the Senate. Only 34 Republicans voted in favor of the measure, despite bipartisan support. The bill is supported in the Senate by the majority, if not all of the Democrats and prominent Republicans like Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Rubio stated in a May 17 press statement that “some members of Congress worry about allowing sick vets and their families to pursue restitution for Camp Lejeune” taking too much money from the federal budget. “To those members I say that this problem was created and must be solved by the government.”

Although there were some hopes that President Biden would sign the bill by Memorial Day 2022 it is not certain if the Senate will pass the bill.

from lawyers.buzz https://lawyers.buzz/camp-lejeune-lawsuit-for-water-contamination-bill-pending/
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