Senator Marco Rubio Demands Justice For Marines.
Senator Marco Rubio has written a letter to JAG and DOJ demanding justice for Marine Corps veterans and their families who were stationed at Camp Lejeune between August 1,1953 and December 31, 1987, and were diagnosed with cancer from the contaminated water. It been ten months since congress passed law permitting Marine Corps veterans to file claims for contaminated water exposure, yet no claims have been settled. On May 23, 2023, Senator Rubio wrote, “These delays in claims processing is adding even more insult to injury for veterans, their dependents, and others who are suffering due to the Navy’s lack of movement.”
Pursuant to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, which Congress passed August 2022, the bill allows Marine Corps veterans who were diagnosed with one of the “presumptive cancers” linked to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune to file their claims within two years from the passage of the Bill. “Presumptive cancer” means the government has acknowledged the causative link between the veteran’s cancer and the specific toxins in the contaminated water.
All claims must be filed before August 2024. So there is a public urgency to dissimulate and pass along this information so that Marine Corps veterans, their widows or estates know they have only until August 2024 to file a claim. Families and widows are allowed to file claims, as wrongful death claims, under the Act. August 2024 is the deadline.
I. GOVERNMENT DELAY IN PROCESSING AND SETTLING CLAIMS.
More than ten months after congress passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, members of congress are rising questions about why no claims have been settled. Since the passage of the Act, the U.S. government has received more than 45,000 claims, yet no claims have been settled. Senators have written to the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) stating, “We write concerning reported delays in settling claims and lawsuits filed by veterans, military personnel, and their families related to injuries associated with water contamination at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987″¦ “It is imperative that the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) act expeditiously to ensure these individuals receive the justice they deserve without delay.” The Senators’ letter demanded that the Navy respond by June 9, 2022.
It is estimated that more than a million Marines and their families were exposed to contaminated Camp Lejeune water between the early 1950s and late 1980s. Some reports suggest that the chemicals are responsible for more than 50,000 breast cancer cases, 28,000 bladder cancer cases, 24,000 renal cancer cases and thousands of other health complications.
II. THE CANCERS LINKED TO CAMP LEJEUNE WATER TOXINS.
Beginning in 1953 the water supply at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with hazardous toxins at concentrations from 240 to 3400 times levels permitted by safety standards, which were trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), benzene, and Vinyl Chloride, and all linked to cancer. Possible sources of the contamination include solvents from a nearby, off-base dry cleaning company, from on-base units using chemicals to clean military equipment, and leaks from underground fuel storage tanks.
The water supply was not cleaned up until 1987. The Veterans Administration and the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 provide a list of presumptive cancers that are linked to exposure to these toxins, which includes, adult leukemia, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, bladder cancer, cardiac defects and liver cancer.
In addition, however, the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, CDC, (ATSDR) reports links between specific cancers with specific toxins in the water. For example, brain cancer is linked to exposure to vinyl chloride; and Aplastic anemia, Myelodysplastic syndromes and miscarriages linked to benzene.
According to ATSDR, other cancers linked to TCE and/or PCE exposure include Chonal atresia (nasal passages blocked with bone or tissue) Eye defects, Low birth weight, Fetal death, Major malformations, Miscarriage, Neural tube defects, Oral cleft defects (including cleft lip), Small for gestational age, Breast cancer, Cervical cancer, Esophageal cancer, Lung cancer, Hodgkins disease, Ovarian cancer, Prostate cancer, Rectal cancer, Impaired immune system function, Neurological effects (delayed reaction times problems with short-term memory, visual perception, attention, and color vision), Neurobehavioral performance deficits (i.e., delayed recall and deficits in visual perception), decreased blink reflex, and mood effects (i.e., confusion, depression and tension), and severe, generalized hypersensitivity skin disorder (an autoimmune-related disease).
III. HOW TO GET STARTED.
As a Marine Corps veteran, who served during Vietnam, I have a special dedication to helping my fellow Marines. Most often, the Marine Corps veteran, or his widow, or estate may file a claim for the diagnosed cancer or wrongful death of the claimant. Records, such as the DD-214 and military records will be reviewed to confirm that the claimant meets the initial criteria of being stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 for more than thirty days. Medical records to establish the diagnosis will be needed too. It may take time, in some case, to gather the necessary records, so do not delay in contacting my office for information and a free case evaluation.