In September 2023, the Department of the Navy announced an “Elective Option” relating to an initial offer of settlement to claimants suffering from toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune. Unfortunately, this proposed remedy only recognizes nine diagnoses:
- bladder cancer
- liver cancer
- kidney cancer
- leukemia
- multiple myeloma
- Parkinson’s disease
- scleroderma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- kidney disease/end-stage renal disease
Limits to the Elective Option: Even if you have one of the nine diagnoses, there are many limitations to the EO.
First, you must have been diagnosed or treated within 35 years of your last date of exposure at Camp Lejeune. For example, if you were last exposed in February 1970, you must have been diagnosed no later than February 2005. Please note that if your diagnosis was more than 35 years after your last date of exposure, you will not qualify for compensation under the Elective Option.
Secondly, if you have more than one diagnosis, you can only receive compensation for one diagnosis under the Elective Option.
For claimants who qualify under the Elective Option and have submitted their administrative claim form, the government suggests they will make offers ranging from $100,000 (for those who were exposed at Camp Lejeune for less than one year) to $450,000 (for those exposed for five-plus years) during the 1953 to 1987 time frame. Additional compensation is available in cases where the exposed person died of his or her diagnosis. The time frame of these offers is currently unknown.
“The government’s Elective Option falls short of adequately valuing the harm caused by the contaminated water and fails to consider many factors that would warrant additional compensation like multiple injuries, lost wages, age at diagnosis, et cetera,” said Glenn Bergmann, managing partner of Bergmann & Moore, whose firm represents Legionnaires and their families in many of these actions.
Accordingly,
Bergmann & Moore does not recommend acceptance of this offer based on the belief that it will amount to pennies on the dollar in terms of expected awards.
As of early December, approximately 130,000 administrative claims are on file with the Navy, and just over 1,400 Camp Lejeune Justice Act complaints have been filed in federal district court in North Carolina.
Bergmann & Moore LLC is a national law firm managed by former VA attorneys. The firm has successfully represented over 12,000 veterans and their family members in VA disability compensation claims in federal court. Bergmann & Moore was selected by The American Legion and the ALA to help assist their members in filing Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims.
Claimants who believe they were exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune may speak to someone personally by calling 800-898-9450, or by filling out the form online at
www.camplejeunelitigationteam.com/al. Anyone who calls should note they were referred by The American Legion. If you have questions before filing a claim, please call Annita Best, Bergmann & Moore’s Camp Lejeune Justice Act spokesperson, at (301) 290-3148. Best is a retired U.S. Marine who served 31 years, most recently as a public affairs officer at II MEF, MARFORPAC, MARFOREUR and MCIEAST, as well as Headquarters Marine Corps.
The American Legion encourages veterans/claimants to reach out to a Camp Lejeune Justice Act attorney for any condition they think may be related to toxic water exposure while at Camp Lejeune.
