{"id":31821,"date":"2022-08-25T18:33:27","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T18:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/25\/va-botched-thousands-of-camp-lejeune-water-contamination-cases\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:33:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:33:59","slug":"va-botched-thousands-of-camp-lejeune-water-contamination-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2022\/08\/25\/va-botched-thousands-of-camp-lejeune-water-contamination-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"VA botched thousands of Camp Lejeune water contamination cases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/08\/24\/travel-reimbursement-for-vets-seeking-care-falls-short-senator-warns\/\" target=\"_blank\">Veterans Affairs processors<\/a> in recent years mishandled more than one-third of all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/07\/19\/nominee-for-top-va-benefits-job-withdraws-restarting-search\/\" target=\"_blank\">disability claims<\/a> related to water contamination issues at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/08\/18\/dont-expect-quick-payouts-from-camp-lejeune-water-lawsuits\/\" target=\"_blank\">Camp Lejeune in North Carolina,<\/a> potentially cheating as many as 21,000 veterans out of financial compensation, a government watchdog said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new report from the department\u2019s inspector general said errors in claim effective dates and retroactive payments alone affected nearly 4,000 veterans and totaled about $14 million, but that accounts for only a small portion of the mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The majority of the mistakes \u2014 affecting more than 17,000 veterans\u2019 cases \u2014 came because staff prematurely denied claims without requesting additional evidence of injury and <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\">exposure to the contaminated water.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVeterans were not informed of the specific evidence needed to support the claim before the decision \u2026 Some of the veterans\u2019 claims might have been granted if veterans had been notified of evidence needed to decide their claims,\u201d the report stated.<\/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\/18\/dont-expect-quick-payouts-from-camp-lejeune-water-lawsuits\/\" 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\/IMG_1644.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\">Don\u2019t expect quick payouts from Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Simply serving at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during the 25-year eligibility period isn\u2019t enough to guarantee a cash settlement.<\/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\">The findings come about two weeks after President Joe Biden signed into law <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/08\/18\/dont-expect-quick-payouts-from-camp-lejeune-water-lawsuits\/\" target=\"_blank\">legislation allowing individuals to sue the federal government for civil damages<\/a> related to injuries related to the Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, water contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From 1953 to 1987, troops and civilians at the base were exposed to drinking water contaminated with a host of toxic compounds related to on-base industrial activities. Outside advocates have said more than one million individuals may have been affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2017, VA officials established eight presumptive conditions believed linked to the water, including adult leukemia and kidney cancer. Individuals with those illnesses can be granted regular disability payouts with less documentation than is required in other cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But veterans who contracted illnesses other than those eight can still apply for disability benefits, if they can prove their exposure to the water contamination caused other problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a review of more than 57,000 Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, cases handled by VA staff between March 2017 and March 2021, however, the VA inspector general found that many cases not related to those eight presumptive conditions were summarily rejected, instead of requesting more information on their conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investigators did not estimate how many of the cases would have resulted in disability payouts.<\/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\">The underpayment problems centered on VA failing to grant veterans the \u201cmost advantageous effective date that applies for the facts of the case,\u201d as outlined under department policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many cases, veterans could have been awarded at least one year of back pay for medical conditions that had lingered for years, even if they had not applied for benefits in the past. In others, cases that were rejected and later revised could have been backdated to the original filing time, giving veterans retroactive payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Staff at VA\u2019s regional office in Louisville, Kentucky, have received special training in the Camp Lejeune cases, but in 2017 those claims were spread around to other VA offices as part of changes in the department\u2019s workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investigators found an 8% error rate in cases handled in Kentucky, versus a 40% error rate for facilities that did not have the same Camp Lejeune-specific training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Benefits Administration officials said they have made improvements to the process in the past year and are currently compiling data on improving accuracy in those claims. Those results are expected later this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials also promised, in the coming months, training improvements for all offices in handling the claims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 17,000 veterans may have had their claims rejected improperly, the VA inspector general found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":33837,"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":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,23,93,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-31821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UHAHSA5MFVHL5GSZNW6PD5HSAA","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2022\/08\/25\/va-botched-thousands-of-camp-lejeune-water-contamination-cases\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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