CDC Study May Expand The List Of Water Contamination-Related Presumptive Illnesses Suffered By Camp Lejeune Marines

Breast cancer and multiple myeloma may soon join other cancers as presumptive illnesses that qualify for automatic payout

Monday, November 20, 2023 - Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims and subsequently lawsuits for personal injury and wrongful deaths may skyrocket from current levels once a controversial Centers For Disease Control (CDC) study's results are made public. The study's conclusions regarding cancer rates among Marines at Camp Lejeune are being kept secret at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a division of the CDC. Much suspicion has been aroused by the CDC's failing to release the study's results to the public. There are currently about 1100 lawsuits on the docket in the Eastern District of North Carolina and also more than 117,000 initial claims alleging that drinking the tap water at Camp Lejeune caused them to develop certain types of cancer. Speculation about the study's findings centers around the fact that the list of cancers presumed to have been caused by Camp Lejeune water may be expanded and automatically qualify tens of thousands more veterans for the elective payout option. According to RollCall.com, " With the first cases claiming harm from Camp Lejeune contamination to be heard soon in court, the public has yet to see the results of a landmark study of cancers among thousands exposed to tainted water at the Marine Corps base from the 1950s to the 1980s, despite the study wrapping up months ago. The comprehensive "cancer incidence study" launched in 2015 by an agency within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was cleared by an outside peer review in April, but it has not yet been made public. The delay could affect more than 1,100 lawsuits seeking compensation for deaths and illnesses that are moving toward action in federal court in North Carolina, as Congress intended in a law enacted in August 2022."

Speculation is that breast cancer and multiple myeloma may soon join kidney, liver, and bladder cancer, leukemia, and Parkinson's disease, as presumptive illnesses that warrant automatic payout provided a person worked or resided at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days from 1953 to 1987. What is also interesting is that the number of people making Camp Lejeune Water Contamination claims may increase because thousands may have been hesitant to put their existing VA benefits in jeopardy. The Navy once said that a veteran will not be able to "double dip" or receive benefits from two sources for the same illness, but now says that receiving benefits for those presumptive illnesses will automatically qualify one for the expedited benefits payout. For those unfamiliar with the elective payout option, " Under the "elective option," those who contracted any of five "Tier 1" diseases -- kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, or bladder cancer -- are eligible for $150,000 if they spent less than a year at Camp Lejeune between 1953, when the wells were installed, and 1987, two years after the contaminated wells were shut down; $300,000 if they were at the base between one and five years; and $450,000 if they were there for more than five years."

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.