The Secretary Of The Navy Tells Congressman That Each Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claim Must Be Investigated As A Matter of Law

The military has no intention of rubber-stamping Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims and as a result they could take decades to process through the courts

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 - When the Camp Lejeune Justice Act was signed into law in August of 2022 it was assumed that claims would be settled by a military administrative process and that filing a lawsuit would not be necessary. To date, not one of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims has been paid. There is speculation that they have not even been addressed as the six-month expiration date has expired for many, allowing them to file a Camp Lejeune Justice Act lawsuit in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Time is not on the side of thousands of US Marines, civilian employees, and their family members who have been stricken with cancer or Parkinson's disease from drinking contaminated Camp Lejeune water. Most of the 50,000 or so current Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims have been made by US marines with cancer or the survivors or those who have died from any one of a list of about twenty times of cancer. Many marines can not afford the chemotherapy or medicines they need to buy without help from a speedy lump-sum settlement from the military.

There is no guarantee, however, that Camp Lejeune water contamination cancer plaintiffs will be more successful in getting a court date as the Eastern District of North Carolina has only four judges and has already been swamped with thousands of lawsuits. "The four judges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina are dealing with three times its usual number of civil cases since the start of the year, said Court Clerk Peter Moore Jr. The cases at the federal court, which are not part of multi-district litigation (MDL) or any other type of consolidation, could ultimately number in the thousands," Reuters reported. Rather than rubber-stamping each claim and paying the amount requested, the Navy has stated that each claim needs to be investigated individually and that takes time to do. According to CBS News17.com, " In late April Rep. Don Davis asked the Secretary of the Navy during a House Armed Services Committee meeting how it plans to streamline the claims process. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said, "I have to look at doing that. But, you know, each case has to be investigated. Each case has to be looked at carefully. It's a matter of law." To complicate matters even further, the Veterans Administration (VA) has stated that even if a lump-sum Camp Lejeune Justice Act claim is paid, other similar benefits that a US marine is receiving could be reduced by the amount of the award to prevent "double dipping." According to JD Supra.com, the pertinent section of the CLJA reads, "Health and disability benefits relating to water exposure--Any award made to an individual, or legal representative of an individual, under this section shall be offset by the amount of any disability award, payment, or benefit provided to the individual."

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