Camp Lejeune Drinking Water Is Responsible For A Staggering Number Of Cases Of Cancer Among US Marines

Multidistrict Litigation is more likely than class action certification as the plaintiff's damages could be millions of dollars each

Monday, August 22, 2022 - The number of Camp Lejeune water lawsuits expected to file in the months ahead is staggering. Some experts think that as many as 300,000 cases of Camp Lejeune water contamination could file in total seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation. Most of the cases will allege that drinking or otherwise being exposed to water contaminated with toxic chemicals caused Marines, civilian employees, and their respective family members one of a list of types of cancer. According to AboutLawsuits.com drinking the Camp Lejeune tap water during any 30 days starting in 1953, and ending in 1987, could be responsible for, "more than 50,000 cases of breast cancer, 28,000 cases of bladder cancer, and 24,000 cases of renal cancer, as well as thousands of cases, involve Parkinson's disease, birth defects, and other health complications." The cases are all similar as they allegedly were caused by drinking the local Camp Lejeune tap water, however, the personal injuries and deaths that each plaintiff suffered are unique. As such, it is unlikely that the class action lawsuit filed by one Marine will be certified.

What is more likely is that Camp Lejeune water lawsuits will be consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) in North Carolina under a single Federal judge. This is not the same as a class action lawsuit as MDL looks to streamline court proceedings rather than replicate them thousands of times. MDL will also examine expert scientific witnesses from each side and decide on only a few that will be allowed to testify before the juries. Once MDL science hearings conclude and discovery has been completed, the judge will select several cases to serve as bellwether trials to gauge the jury's reaction to the evidence. It is hoped that the initial trials will guide both sides to agree on a settlement without the remainder of the cases going to trial. Plaintiffs suing the federal government will be those who have cancer or the survivors of those who have died as a result of allegedly drinking the local Camp Lejeune tap water. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act also allows Marine family members with cancer or their loved ones to file a lawsuit. Another interesting element of the cases will be the Jury's reaction to the evidence that the US Navy and Marine Corps covered up their knowledge that carcinogenic volatile organic compounds, contaminants such as PCE (perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene), DCE (trans-1,2-dichloroethylene), vinyl chloride, and benzene according to the CDC, contaminated the Camp Lejeune drinking water supply. The Navy is accused of waiting more than a decade before informing marines, failing to ever inform those who passed through the base the previous 30 years. More than one million people may have been exposed to the toxins in the drinking water due to the Navy and Marine Corps' negligence, carelessness, and recklessness, causing thousands of Marine deaths, marine family member deaths, and countless pregnancy complications including babies being stillborn.

Information provided by CampLejeuneJusticeActClaim.com, a website devoted to providing news about Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claim, including a free no-cost, no-obligation Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claim.