People who served or lived at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base in North Carolina in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s might have a claim for compensation for health consequences they suffered from the contaminated water at the base. You might have a significant medical condition that makes you eligible for benefits.
Still, the facts alone will not put money in your pocket. You need to know how to build a strong Camp Lejeune water contamination case. A North Carolina military defense attorney can help you go after the benefits you deserve.
Time of Service Requirements at Camp Lejeune
There are three primary components to the time of service requirements for a Camp Lejeune water contamination case, according to the Veterans Administration (VA).
- You must have served or lived at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) for at least 30 days. The 30 days do not have to run consecutively. In other words, if you served on the base one day a month for three years, you have 36 cumulative days, which satisfies the 30 cumulative days requirement.
- The time period of your service must have fallen between August 1953 through December 1987.
- Your separation from the military was not a dishonorable discharge.
You must meet all three of these eligibility factors to meet the time of service requirements for a claim for benefits based on Camp Lejeune water contamination.
Eligible Medical Diagnoses After Serving at Camp Lejeune Marine Base
Veterans, reservists, and guardsmen are eligible for healthcare and financial compensation if they have one of these presumptive conditions:
- Parkinson’s disease
- Adult leukemia
- Liver cancer
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Anaplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Kidney cancer
A presumptive condition means that the military will presume that the contaminated water at the base was the cause of your medical condition. You will not have to prove a connection between the water and the disease you developed.
Veterans and their family members who meet the time of service requirements could get benefits in the form of out-of-pocket healthcare cost reimbursement if they suffered any of these conditions:
- Breast cancer
- Female infertility
- Kidney cancer
- Lung cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Neurobehavioral effects
- Renal toxicity
- Bladder cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Hepatic steatosis
- Leukemia
- Miscarriage
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Scleroderma
You will need to provide documents that support your claim on the medical issues and the time that you lived at the base.
What Happened at Camp Lejeune
The drinking water at Camp Lejeune had two on-base water wells that were contaminated with toxic chemicals. In 1985, the authorities shut down these water wells, but people had already consumed dangerous chemicals like trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene, vinyl chloride, and other hazardous chemical compounds in the water. Some of the severe medical conditions took years to develop. If you or a close family member developed any of these medical conditions after serving or living at Camp Lejeune, you will want to talk to a North Carolina family law lawyer about your legal options. For help with your case contact our office today, we offer a free consultation.
