As the August 10 deadline for filing claims related to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune passes, the massive injury case against the U.S. government remains largely unresolved, leaving the future uncertain.
Over 385,000 people have filed administrative claims with the U.S. Navy, alleging harm from the toxic water at the Jacksonville, North Carolina, military facility. The government has admitted that the water was tainted with toxic chemicals for more than 30 years, starting in the 1950s. This deadline marks the last opportunity for individuals to bring new claims.
While some claims may be duplicates, the Camp Lejeune situation is poised to become one of the largest personal injury cases in history, rivaling the 390,000 claims in the 3M military earplugs case. However, unlike the 3M case and most mass litigation, which can use the federal multidistrict litigation system to streamline similar cases, the Camp Lejeune claims follow a unique process set by a federal law that made these claims possible.
So far, this process has frustrated many victims and lawmakers. Out of the hundreds of thousands of claims filed over the tainted water, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Camp Lejeune Claims Unit at the U.S. Navy have resolved only 154 cases. The government offers settlements based on medical diagnoses and the length of time individuals spent on the base.
In 1982, the U.S. Marines discovered dangerous chemicals in the water at Camp Lejeune. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services later confirmed that between 1953 and 1987, chemicals in the water at the base likely affected a million people, leading to diseases such as kidney cancer, leukemia, and bladder cancer.
August 10 also marks two years since President Joe Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act into law. After years of courts dismissing lawsuits over the water based on North Carolina state law, the act opened a limited pathway for claims. It requires individuals seeking compensation to file an administrative claim with the U.S. Navy before pursuing a federal lawsuit. These cases then go to a single federal court in North Carolina.
Attorneys involved in the Camp Lejeune cases and other government lawsuits describe the situation as unique, with no historical precedent. Around 1,900 lawsuits are currently pending, and this number is expected to grow as more claims that met the administrative deadline progress to court.
A panel of four judges in the Eastern District of North Carolina is overseeing all major rulings. The first trials have no scheduled start date, and recent court orders suggest they may not begin until mid-2025. Judges, not juries, will decide all trials, as the court agreed with the government’s position that the law does not permit jury trials.
The court took six months to appoint attorneys to oversee negotiations for a global settlement of the cases after the government and victims requested a settlement master. These negotiations will likely require the first trials to proceed to guide the settlement discussions.
Some of the bill’s sponsors express disappointment with the slow progress toward resolution. Pennsylvania House Representative Matt Cartwright, one of the bill’s original sponsors, criticizes the government’s approach, comparing it to a tobacco company fighting lawsuits. He describes the settlement offers as “embarrassingly small.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged the situation, stating, “Although the Camp Lejeune Justice Act created a litigation scheme, rather than a compensation scheme, the Justice Department, alongside our partners at the Department of Navy, has engaged in significant efforts to resolve these claims efficiently.”
Eric Flynn, an attorney at Bell Legal Group representing thousands of Camp Lejeune claimants, notes that many of his clients feel the government’s offer “doesn’t capture their experience.”
In May, North Carolina House Representative Greg Murphy, another original sponsor of the bill, introduced the Camp Lejeune Justice Corrections Act. This act would clarify that any Camp Lejeune case could be tried before a jury and expand the number of federal courts that can handle these cases.
Meanwhile, plaintiffs like Kim Ann Callan of Florida remain in limbo. Callan, 66, an outspoken advocate for Camp Lejeune victims, was an infant at the camp when her father served as a Marine there. She sued the government after being diagnosed with leukemia and other conditions she attributes to the water. She has also filed claims on behalf of her parents but has seen no progress on any of her cases.
“If somebody offers me $1,000, $10,000, $100,000, it doesn’t matter,” Callan said. “I want accountability, and I want them to never, never, never do this again.”
