The Navy Has Issued Its First Joint Status Report About Camp Lejeune Justice Act Payouts

The report states that the number of Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims has grown to about 150.000 and that eight new offers have been accepted

Sunday, December 31, 2023 - Since early in 2023, the US Navy has been forced by lawmakers to make periodic status reports informing them of progress that was made in satisfying thousands of Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims. Lawmakers were concerned that the Navy was ignoring the claims as not a single claim was answered for the first year since the law was enacted in August of 2022. The number of claims has now grown to nearly 150,000 according to the Navy's first joint status report dated Dec. 11, 2023, and the Navy claims they are making progress. This is despite only 11 claims having been settled under the Elective Option designed to streamline claims. " As the CLCU continues to receive, analyze, and validate incoming CLJA claims, the numbers of claims processed and offers extended by the Navy will continue to increase. More robust metrics related to the new Elective Option framework are anticipated after the New Year. The Navy and Department of Justice have developed the elective option as a voluntary framework to settle claims filed under the CLJA. This framework will supplement other mechanisms for resolving claims currently available through normal administrative claims or litigation processes," according to wcti12.com. The report goes on to tell readers that 1471 Camp Lejeune water lawsuits have been filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Each of the four judges handling the cases has about 360 assigned to them. The Navy also set guidelines for attorneys to submit fully-developed claims under the elective option for manual review. Other claims will continue to go through the VA's automated process to verify the claimant's information.

To illustrate just how long it is going to take for the government to process the tens of thousands of elective option cases, only 26 have been completed as of December 18, 2023. As expected, bladder cancer and kidney disease top the list of diseases most often presumed to have been caused by drinking Camp Lejeune water. As we already know only two cases have been accepted by claimants to date. "The Department of Justice (DOJ) has determined that twenty-six (26) cases in litigation meet the EO criteria for settlement through documentary verification. The case breakdown by injury includes 9 Bladder Cancer, 7 Kidney Cancer, 4 non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, 4 Kidney Disease, 1 Leukemia, and 1 Multiple Myeloma. Two (2) offers have been accepted by plaintiffs in cases of Bladder Cancer and Kidney Cancer. Two (2) offers were rejected by plaintiffs in cases of Bladder Cancer and Kidney Cancer. Six (6) offers have expired, including 3 cases of Kidney Cancer, 2 cases of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and 1 case of Leukemia. The other sixteen (16) settlement offers are pending. Eight more offers are reported to have been accepted and one was rejected by the claimant totaling $1,450,000.”

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.