JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024
20
Important Developments re : Camp Lejeune Water Contamination
Many Marines and their families may have felt relief in August 2022 when the government passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act ( CLJA ). The CLJA was meant to provide compensation to Marines , their families , and anyone else who was present on Marine Corp base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between August 1953 and December 1987 for at least 30 total days . The law created a two-year window for claimants or their survivors to file claims with the Department of the Navy , a required first step before filing a lawsuit for recovery under the Act . Recently , the Navy announced a first step toward settling these claims .
Elective Option Settlement Scheme Created by the Government
The government took little to no overt action for over a year , not even extending a single settlement offer to those who filed claims early in the process . On September 6 , 2023 , faced with developing a method to handle the thousands of administrative claims already filed , the Navy adopted an administrative settlement scheme for certain claims . The Navy calls this “ the Elective Option ” or “ EO .” It is billed as a method to resolve claims more rapidly than litigation , but it is limited to certain claimants with only certain types of medical conditions . The EO adopts specified dollar values for cases based upon a classification of medical conditions and the length of an individual ’ s exposure at Camp Lejeune
Tier 1 Claims for Settlement Under the Elective Option
The Navy classified five conditions as Tier 1 claims : Kidney Cancer , Liver Cancer , Non-Hodkin Lymphoma , Leukemia , and Bladder Cancer . For claimants who had exposure on base up to 364 days , the Navy scheme offers a $ 150,000 settlement . Exposure from one to five years results in an offer of $ 300,000 , and the offer for exposure over five years is $ 450,000 . If the qualifying condition resulted in death , an additional $ 100,000 is offered , yielding a maximum Tier 1 EO offer of $ 550,000 .
Tier 2 Claims For Settlement Under the Elective Option
An additional four claims were classified as Tier 2 : Multiple Myeloma , Parkinson ’ s Disease , Kidney Cancer / End Stage Renal Disease , and Systemic Sclerosis / Sclerodoma . Settlement offers include : $ 100,000 for exposure under 364 days , $ 250,000 for one-to-five-year exposures , and $ 400,000 for exposures over five years . Again , an additional $ 100,000 will be offered for qualifying Tier 2 conditions that result in death , yielding a maximum Tier 2 EO offer of $ 500,000 .
The Latency Requirement – No Less Than 2 but No More Than 35 Years
To qualify for these settlement offers , the claimant had to
By John V . Tucker
be diagnosed before August 10 , 2022 . Also , the Navy arbitrarily adopted a rule as part of the EO that the earliest date of diagnosis or treatment for the claimant ’ s condition must a ) not have been less than two years after the claimant ’ s first exposure , and b ) not greater than 35 years after the claimant ’ s last exposure . The Navy claims that this “ allows easier and quicker review of claims ” and “ reduces burdens on claimants .”
As an example , a Marine serving at Camp Lejeune in 1955 would have had to develop one of the identified Tier 1 or Tier 2 conditions no later than 1990 . While this is certainly simpler than presenting expert testimony to a court to establish a connection , one must consider the possibility of a greatly enhanced court award compared to the set dollar amounts established by the EO .
Many Conditions Not Included
Despite acknowledging that sufficient evidence of connection to chemical exposure was proven scientifically for conditions like cardiac birth defects , the Navy did not include conditions other than those listed above in the Election Option scheme .
Conclusion
There may be compelling reasons that an individual may want to participate in the Elective Option settlement program , but these initial values appear low for the severity of the conditions . For comparison , the average settlement for 9 / 11 victims in 2003 was $ 1.4 million per claimant – nearly $ 2,365,637.86 today when adjusted for inflation . The program also excludes conditions for which scientific support exists to establish causation to the exposure that occurred at Camp Lejeune . Many individuals may also be excluded from the EO because of the latency requirement , requiring them to litigate their claims . While the Elective Option is a good first step , practitioners should thoroughly evaluate the value of claims before recommending their clients accept these settlements , and keep in mind that recovery under the Act requires that any claim be filed on mandatory forms with the Navy before August 10 , 2024 .
John Tucker is a Past President of the Saint Petersburg Bar Association . He is the Principal of Tucker Disability Law , P . A . based in St . Petersburg . Tucker Disability ’ s practice includes VA Service- Connected Compensation claims , as well as claims and litigation under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act . You may reach John at Tucker @ TuckerDisability . com .