Camp Lejeune Widows Seek Justice for Water Contamination Deaths

Thousands of US Marine widows file claims and lawsuits after their husbands' cancer deaths, seeking justice and compensation for Camp Lejeune water contamination-related illnesses

Thursday, July 6, 2023 - More than 60,000 Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims have been filed since the law went into effect in August 2023. Many of the claims have been made by the surviving spouses of Marines that died at an early age from cancer. About 1000 Camp Lejeune water lawsuits have made their way to the North Carolina court as a result of the Department of the Navy failing to address the claims within the 6-month time frame. The widows told the Jacksonville news that they fear their claims will once again go unanswered. Their lawsuits seek compensation for lost income from their previously gainfully employed husbands, college costs, future mortgage payments, and the like.

The medical circumstances surrounding the deaths of US Marines are shockingly similar. Most died at a young age from cancer after having served and spent considerable time at Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987, the time of the known water contamination. One surviving spouse of a US Marine who was once stationed at Camp Lejeune told a local news station that her husband's doctor was shocked that someone so young and so physically fit could have cancer. Camp Lejeune widow Karen Swindler said she "met her husband, Private Edward Swindler, in church. He developed adenocarcinoma in his early 40s. He died at 44. "And it was a very baffling experience," Swindler said. "It was baffling to the physicians for someone to be that young and to have the cancer. It was aggressive when they found it. So it was already metastasizing at that point." Michelle James, another Camp Lejeune widow, lost her partner Private Eric Holford at the young age of 53 after a long period of intense suffering. Private Holford was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which spread throughout his body, according to News4Jax.com.

These women and others have not only had their lives and the lives of their family members turned upside down by the deaths of their spouses, but they have also been the victims of the military bureaucracy failing to address their financial needs. Unfortunately, the types of cancers that their husbands and thousands of other US Marines have died from were not on the list of those presumed to have been caused by drinking contaminated Camp Lejeune water, and as a result, their claims for compensation under the previous Camp Lejeune water programs have been denied. Congress and the President of The United States took up the cause of Camp Lejeune water poisoning widows when they passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act in August of 2022. The Act allows those suffering from an expanded list of types of cancer and their surviving loved ones the right to not only refile a claim for lump-sum compensation but also to file a lawsuit if their claim is denied or not addressed within 6 months of filing. Bladder, breast, cervical, esophageal, and kidney cancer now make the list, as does liver cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, adult leukemia, aplastic anemia, myeloma, renal toxicity, scleroderma, lung cancer, and Parkinson's disease. Even if a Marine's cancer is not on the list, a Camp Lejeune Justice Act claim may be filed.

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.