{"id":19146,"date":"2022-08-18T14:32:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T14:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/18\/dont-expect-quick-payouts-from-camp-lejeune-water-lawsuits\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:21:44","slug":"dont-expect-quick-payouts-from-camp-lejeune-water-lawsuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/08\/18\/dont-expect-quick-payouts-from-camp-lejeune-water-lawsuits\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t expect quick payouts from Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The TV ads and colorful mailers have been relentless in recent months: \u201cIf you or someone you love served at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/pay-benefits\/2022\/04\/29\/heres-what-we-know-about-the-deaths-of-3-children-at-camp-lejeune\/\" target=\"_blank\">Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune<\/a> prior to 1988, you may be eligible for financial compensation!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But advocates are warning that tens of thousands of individuals who lived at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/03\/14\/va-finalizes-disability-benefits-plans-for-contaminated-water-exposure-at-camp-lejeune\/\" target=\"_blank\">the North Carolina<\/a> base will never see a penny from a new law allowing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/01\/25\/what-will-the-navys-denial-of-camp-lejeune-claims-mean-for-other-contaminated-bases\/\" target=\"_blank\">civil suits<\/a> against the military for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2015\/12\/07\/groups-demand-information-on-camp-lejeune-disability-claims\/\" target=\"_blank\">water contamination injuries<\/a> there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And those who do get payouts probably won\u2019t see any money for months or years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shane Liermann, deputy national legislative director at Disabled American Veterans, said, \u201cVeterans need to make sure they\u2019re well informed before they make any decisions about getting involved with these lawsuits, because it could actually cost them money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe last thing we want is for our veterans to see a reduction in their benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/03\/14\/va-finalizes-disability-benefits-plans-for-contaminated-water-exposure-at-camp-lejeune\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635742341785354998-ap-197396770849jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA finalizes disability benefits plans for contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The department has a list of eight presumptive illnesses that may make veterans eligible for disability payouts. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At issue is a provision in the recently passed Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, better known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/burn-pits\/2022\/08\/04\/now-that-the-pact-act-passed-how-soon-will-veterans-see-their-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\">the PACT Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The measure \u2014 signed into law on Aug. 10 \u2014 includes almost $300 billion in new financial benefits for veterans suffering from illnesses caused by burn pit smoke in Iraq and Afghanistan, Agent Orange spraying in Vietnam, and several other military toxic exposure events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also contains provisions dubbed the \u201cCamp Lejeune Justice Act,\u201d which allows civil suits against the government for injuries related to water contamination at the Marine Corps base from August 1953 to December 1987. More than one million individuals could be covered by the measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well water contamination problems at the site have been documented for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2012, Congress passed legislation easing rules for veterans and their family members who developed rare cancers and other sicknesses to receive health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But advocates have said that process doesn\u2019t cover a host of problems or compensate families who already have lost loved ones to illnesses linked to the toxic water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new bill will allow them to sue for civil damages, providing a level of financial relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis isn\u2019t automatic payouts,\u201d said Greg Rinckey, founding partner of the firm Tully Rinckey, which specializes in military law. \u201cIndividuals are going to have to file lawsuits to get those damages. But for the first time, they can take legal action to get monetary compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/commentary\/2022\/08\/10\/camp-lejeune-toxic-water-victims-families-are-now-closer-to-justice\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635575273225183977-ap828085532755jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Camp Lejeune\u2019s toxic water killed my daughter. This new law finally allows affected families to take legal action<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Janey, the only one of the author&#039;s four children conceived at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, died of leukemia at age 9.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although passage of the PACT Act was not a certainty until earlier in August, law firms have been anticipating the Lejeune Justice Act would become law since early 2022, and marketing their services to potential would-be clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That has raised concerns from veterans advocates, who say many lawyers may be overselling the potential windfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leadership at the Veterans of Foreign Wars in early August issued an explainer for veterans about the flood of legal advertisements, warning that \u201cno one can tell you today exactly how VA will interpret the 150 pages of legislation until VA publishes regulations in the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the unanswered questions is whether veterans who are eligible for disability payouts and VA health care may lose access to those benefits if they sue the government and win. Coupled with potential attorney fees, that could end up costing individuals more than they receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, Veterans Affairs officials said they will not penalize individuals by denying pending disability claims or cutting services simply for filing a lawsuit related to the Lejeune Justice Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But they noted that if a lawsuit is successful, \u201cany award must be offset by the amounts of VA benefits provided in connection with health care or disability relating to exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Liermann said that is a significant concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA lawsuit as a first step makes sense for some of these family members and relatives who aren\u2019t getting any benefits now, because they have nothing to lose,\u201d he said. \u201cBut for veterans who already get some help, there could be a dollar-for-dollar offset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rinckey said that even successful lawsuits are likely to take months or years to complete. He estimates the first payouts from the new law likely won\u2019t materialize until summer 2024 at the earliest, and only for the cases that are easiest to prove: severe injuries with no clear explanation but the poisoned water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn order to win these cases, people are going to have to prove not just that they were there, but that they were hurt,\u201d he said. \u201cMore than one million people were exposed. But you have to also show injury in order to win the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/08\/04\/now-that-the-pact-act-passed-how-soon-will-veterans-see-their-benefits\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1242275592.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Now that PACT Act has passed, how soon will veterans see their benefits?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Some portions of the sweeping veterans policy measure will go into effect as soon as it becomes law. Others will take years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means that simply serving at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during the 25-year eligibility period isn\u2019t enough to guarantee a cash settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, veterans groups are urging veterans curious about the lawsuits to file a claim with VA first, to see if they\u2019re eligible for medical care and benefits. That process can take months to complete, but does not carry with it outside lawyer fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Liermann said if that does not produce enough help, veterans can still file a lawsuit later, once the legal parameters and process have been more firmly established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA has not taken a formal stance on the rush of legal ads related to the water contamination issue, but said that individuals with related questions can contact accredited agents, which include veterans service organizations and other outside groups familiar with the benefits process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More information on that is available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/ogc\/accreditation.asp\" target=\"_blank\">at the VA web site.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simply serving at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during the 25-year eligibility period isn\u2019t enough to guarantee a cash settlement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":41591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,22,23,93,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-19146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UEE3IMOLZBHYHCNV6WMGC536GU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/08\/18\/dont-expect-quick-payouts-from-camp-lejeune-water-lawsuits\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Don\u2019t expect quick payouts from Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Simply serving at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during the 25-year eligibility period isn\u2019t enough to guarantee a cash settlement.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t expect quick payouts from Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Simply serving at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during the 25-year eligibility period isn\u2019t enough to guarantee a cash settlement.\" \/>\n<meta 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