Marine Corps Widows May File Camp Lejeune Justice Act Lawsuit

Parents who have had children die from leukemia and lived at Camp Lejeune while pregnant are also encouraged to seek legal counsel

Tuesday, August 30, 2022 - Many retired marines who were originally from the southern states from Texas to South Carolina have returned home to assimilate back into society. All was going well for most, however, a high percentage of US Marines that were trained and lived at Camp Lejeune have developed cancer and are dying prematurely. Cancer has a latency period where it can lie dormant in the cells for more than a decade before the symptoms become apparent and a patient seeks medical treatment. Once diagnosed, the patient may have only a year or two to live. Lynn Rafferty, a Jacksonville, Florida widow, filed one of the first Camp Lejeune Justice Act lawsuits alleging that her husband's exposure to VOC-contaminated water caused the disease that claimed his life. According to Fox News Jacksonville, "Rafferty's husband Brian was diagnosed with leukemia in 2013 and later passed away in 2016. He was also diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome as a result of chemotherapy. Rafferty said Brian was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He was there for training in 1972 and then again for two years between 1974 and 1975."

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), signed into law in early August 2022, gives the surviving spouses of Marines that died from certain types of cancer the ability to file lawsuits seeking a seven-figure lump sum settlement. Each lawsuit must stand or fall on the merits of the evidence and the degree of injury the plaintiff suffered. Some veterans receive automatic disability income benefits because of their medical condition's connection with the water-contaminated marine base. According to the VA, "If you served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina, you may have had contact with contaminants in the drinking water there. Scientific and medical evidence has shown an association between exposure to these contaminants during military service and development of certain diseases later on."

The presumptive conditions connected by the Veterans Administration are Adult leukemia, Aplastic anemia, and other myelodysplastic syndromes, Bladder cancer, Kidney cancer, Liver cancer, Multiple myeloma, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Parkinson's disease. Thousands of Gulf War veteran marines have been denied disability benefits and their lawsuits were thrown out if their cancer did not fall among those approved. The CLJA changed that and now those lawsuits will be heard. The CLJA expands the presumptive conditions list to include esophageal cancer, breast and lung cancer, renal toxicity, miscarriages, stillbirth, female infertility, scleroderma, hepatic steatosis, and neurological development impairment in children. There are several groups of people that may be eligible to seek lump-sum compensation through the court system. US marines who have had children die from leukemia because their pregnant spouse drank the Camp Lejeune tap water are encouraged to seek legal counsel from a Camp Lejeune water attorney as are the widows of US marines who have died from cancer. Civilian employees and independent contractors that worked at Camp Lejeune for more than 30-days from 1953 to 1987 and have developed cancer or died from the disease should also seek legal guidance.

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.