Marines Stationed at Camp Lejeune 1953 to 1988

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Veterans Compensation Group, Inc. is fully committed to helping:

Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune. 

From 1953 to 1988, Camp Lejeune in North Carolina was the site of one of the most horrendous water disasters in American history, and the Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune for their basic training, along with civilian contractors and the family members of Marine Corps personnel, were subject to a wide array of health problems from drinking and cooking with the toxic water.

The Veterans Compensation Group will take the lead and assist any veteran stationed at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days with filing for compensation under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which was signed into federal law in 2022. Compensation can range from $100,000 to $550,000 during the early settlement period, which runs through the end of 2024.

For more than 30 years, from the early 1950’s through the late 1980’s, Marines, contractors and their families living and working at the US Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were exposed to contaminated water.

In 1942, the Marine Corps established Camp Lejeune, and since that date it has served as basic training for over 1,000,000 Marines. In 1982, it was discovered that the base’s water treatment plants were contaminated with many dangerous and toxic chemicals. Those water treatment plants provided the water with which people drank, cooked and bathed since the early 1950’s,

The Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, linked the contamination to industrial spills, leaks in underground storage tanks, and chemical spills from an off-base dry-cleaning company. Chemicals utilized in dry-cleaning operations, and chemicals used as degreasing solvents, paint removers and rug and carpet cleaning leaked into the Camp Lejeune water. Over 70 chemicals and toxins were in the water, resulting in unacceptable levels for safety at unimaginable magnitudes. The contaminated wells were closed in 1985.

Approximately 1,000,000 veterans, family members and civilians may have been exposed to the contaminated water between 1953 and 1987, and an array of illnesses have been linked to the contamination, including cancers of the bladder, liver, breast, lungs and kidneys, as well as leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, cardiac arrest, neurological problems, birth defects and miscarriages.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act was signed into law by President Biden in August of 2022, as part of the PACT Act. The legal action made it possible for affected veterans and their families to seek compensation in a more expedited way. A potential plaintiff has two years after the enactment of the act to file a suit or claim. The deadline was established as August 10th, 2024.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act also gives the US District Court of North Caroline the exclusive jurisdiction to hear cases of exposure and diagnosis of any health condition, or financial or mental impact suffered by a plaintiff.

Early settlement ranges are in the $100,000 to $550,000 range, as of January of 2024, payouts totaling $2,050,000 have been made, and the US Government has set aside at least $21 billion specifically for Camp Lejeune victims.