Now that the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 (“Camp Lejeune Act”) is effective federal law, those who served, lived, or worked for at least thirty (30) days at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina can file civil bodily injury or wrongful death claims to provide them justice. The injuries must be shown to have resulted from ingestion or exposure to the toxic water at the base.
Camp Lejeune water is confirmed to have been contaminated with several toxins, including specifically:
- Benzene;
- Tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene or “PCE”);
- Trans-1,2-dichloroethylene (“DCE”);
- Trichloroethylene (“TCE”); and
- Vinyl chloride.
Victims must confirm exposure during August 1, 1953 to December 31, 1987. The Camp Lejeune Act allows a two-year statute of limitations, or filing deadline, for those seeking recompense.
For more details, read our earlier discussion in Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Victims: Filing Federal Civil Injury Claims for Toxic Tap Water Harm.
Camp Lejeune Injuries Acknowledged by the Federal Government
Some of the harm caused by the Camp Lejeune contaminated water has been publicly acknowledged by the federal government. For instance, in March 2017, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (“VA”) issued its final rule in the Federal Register regarding the water contamination consequences for the victims.
VA: Presumptive Service Connection
Based upon exposure to four (4) chemicals known to be in the Camp Lejeune water, the VA identified eight (8) diseases that are considered “presumptive service-connected harm” for purposes of disability claims. These eight diseases are:
- Adult leukemia
- Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease.
However, many serious injuries and fatal harms can be tied to the toxins found in the Camp Lejeune water other than these eight VA presumptive harms. Read, “ATSDR Assessment of the Evidence for the Drinking Water Contaminants at Camp Lejeune and Specific Cancers and Other Diseases” published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (“CDC-ATSDR Report”).
Claims may be legally advanced for these toxic water injuries even though the federal government has not formally acquiesced to their direct causal connection and the resulting legal liability, as it has with the VA’s Presumptive Diseases List.
Congenital Cardiac Injuries and Heart Defects
Among these water contamination cases are known correlations from exposure to the Camp Lejeune toxins and cardiac birth defects. For cardiac birth defects, even short amounts or durations of exposure to the mother may be sufficient to cause a birth defect if the exposure occurred during the relevant vulnerability period for cardiac defects, i.e., 3-9 months gestation. See, CDC-ATSDR Report, pp. 3, 11.
Of importance, in utero exposure to the toxic water is addressed within the language of the Camp Lejeune Act itself, including these victims as “claimants” under the law. The Camp Lejeune Act states as follows (emphasis added):
An individual, including a veteran (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United States Code), or the legal representative of such an individual, who resided, worked, or was otherwise exposed (including in utero exposure) for not less than 30 days during the period beginning on August 1, 1953, and ending on December 31, 1987, to water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, that was supplied by, or on behalf of, the United States may bring an action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina to obtain appropriate relief for harm that was caused by exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune.
Camp Lejeune Cardiac Birth Defect Claimants: Parents and Children
Under the new Camp Lejeune Act, claims may be advanced not only by those victims who were born with heart issues or cardiac defects that developed during pregnancy (i.e., in the womb) but also the parents of infants or children who suffered fatal cardiac defects. The key here is that the claimant must confirm the mother’s presence at Camp Lejeune during the statutory time period (for at least thirty (30) days sometime between August 1953 and December 1987) alongside the existence of the heart defect.
The CDC-ATSDR research confirms that it is the exposure to trichloroethylene (“TCE”) in the water that harmed unborn children at Camp Lejeune and caused failures in proper and natural cardiac development.
This is not the first time that TCE has been found in children’s drinking water with horrific results. There is precedent in the longstanding water contamination from trichloroethylene (TCE) in the Tucson groundwater during the 1970s. Read, Costa, Priscila JBM. “” Is It Just Our Side of Town?”: TCE Groundwater Contamination and School Children in Southside Tucson.” Journal of Arizona History 62.1 (2021): 71-89.
What is a congenital heart defect?
According to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, congenital heart defects happen “…[w]hen the heart or blood vessels near the heart do not develop normally before birth, a condition called congenital heart defect occurs (congenital means “existing at birth”). Congenital heart defects occur in close to 1% of infants. Most young people with congenital heart defects are living into adulthood now.”
The congenital heart defect harms its victims in one of two ways: (1) by creating an abnormal blood flow through the heart; or (2) blocking blood flow to the heart itself or to the blood vessels.
Johns Hopkins uses a hole between two heart chambers as a common example of a congenital heart defect, and explains that other types of congenital cardiac defects include:
- The right or left side of the heart is incompletely formed (hypoplastic);
- Only one ventricle is present;
- Both the pulmonary artery and aorta arise from the same ventricle; and
- The pulmonary artery and aorta arise from the “wrong” ventricles.
Claims for Congenital Cardiac Heart Defects Under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022
Anyone suffering any type of heart birth defect whose mother was exposed to the toxic water at Camp Lejeune during the years 1953 to 1987 may have a legal claim for injuries under the new Camp Lejeune Act of 2022. The victims themselves may seek redress or their parents (or spouses) as wrongful death claimants.
Cardiac birth defects can be fatal or catastrophic injuries that result in limited or altered life experiences. Anyone who suspects congenital heart injuries connected to the water contamination at Camp Lejeune has the right to investigate whether or not the harm is compensable under the Camp Lejeune Act of 2022.
These claims may vary in their complexity and the evidence needed to be located and authenticated to meet the legal burden of proof placed upon the claimant. The Camp Lejeune Act does not allow the federal government to assert an immunity defense; however, the government’s attorneys are free to zealously challenge each piece of evidence brought forth in support of a plaintiff’s case seeking to connect their bodily harm to the toxic water. Having experienced injury advocates, medical experts, and professional investigators may be imperative for a successful result.
For more on Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Claims, read our earlier series articles:
- Toxins in the Water: Causation in the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Claims
- FAQs for Toxic Water Claims Under the Camp Lejeune Act
- Who Can File a Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit for Toxic Water Injuries?
- Diseases and Harm From Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Contamination
- Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Victims: Filing Federal Civil Injury Claims for Toxic Tap Water Harm.
The fact that pregnant mothers of our military service personnel were innocently exposed during pregnancy to toxic water contamination on an established military base is horrific. Please be careful out there!
