Since North Carolina Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune opened in 1942, it has been home to thousands of military service members, families, and civilian and contract employees. Between the years of 1953 and 1987, those residents were exposed to dangerous contaminants in the base water supply that have led to enduring and sometimes deadly health effects.
Victims of Camp Lejeune’s water contamination have fought for years to be compensated for the maladies they have faced. Critics say that the efforts to assist those without approved claims have been disastrously slow.
As the first veteran service organization to endorse the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, the Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) strongly endorses a piece of legislation proposed in 2025 that would further enhance protections, the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act, H.R.4515 and S.907.
Finding the Problem
Dangerous contamination in Camp Lejeune’s water supply went unchecked until 1982, when environmental testing began to uncover the presence of toxic volatile organic compounds in two water treatment plants, largely as a result of a dry cleaning business off-base.
In one water treatment plant, the levels of perchloroethylene (PCE) were measured at 215 parts per billion (ppb) in 1985, 43 times above the EPA limit of 5 ppb. At another water treatment plant, levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) were measured at 1,400 ppb in 1982, 280 times higher than the EPA limit of 5 ppb.
Studies determined that infants exposed to Camp Lejeune water in utero had four times the likelihood of experiencing neural tube defects, including spina bifida and anencephaly. Drinking the contaminated water during childhood also increased the risk of developing childhood cancers and led to a higher risk of developing adult cancers.
Justice for Victims
It was not until the Janey Ensminger Act of 2012 that the U.S. government was first authorized to issue payments to victims for medical care costs incurred due to water contamination.
Despite the developments, North Carolina’s 10-year statute of repose limited victims’ ability to pursue claims.
As of 2017, veterans exposed to contaminated water became eligible for disability compensation through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Today, the VA covers health conditions including bladder cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, female infertility, hepatic steatosis, kidney cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, miscarriage, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes, neurobehavioral effects, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, renal toxicity, and scleroderma.
In recognition that victims required additional support, Congress put forward the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, which was enacted through the PACT Act. Under the act, civilians and veterans alike can file for damages related to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune if they were located at the base for more than 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987.
Applicants were given a deadline of August 10, 2024 to file claims on behalf of themselves or deceased family members. The Department of the Navy had six months to respond to claimants. For those who heard no response in six months, or those whose claims were denied, there is an option to take their claim to federal court.
The Department of Justice has paid out more than $723 million to Camp Lejeune victims and offered settlements of over $907 million since June 15, 2026. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that total payouts could reach $21 billion.
Taking Claims to Court
For Camp Lejeune victims who take their claims to federal court, covered diseases are being divided into three tracks.
Track 1 plaintiffs include victims with bladder cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, Parkinson’s disease, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This subset of cases will be the first to go to trial.
Track 2 plaintiffs will follow, and include victims managing prostate cancer, kidney disease, lung cancer, liver cancer, or breast cancer.
As of April 2024, the subset of conditions covered for Track 3 plaintiffs had yet to be determined. Both the Department of Justice and plaintiffs sought to include esophageal cancer under Track 3. The Department of Justice proposed including general medical monitoring, miscarriage, and hypersensitivity skin disorder in the third track. Plaintiffs preferred to focus on pancreatic cancer, sclerosis and scleroderma, multiple myeloma, and aplastic anemia.
According to Miller and Zois, LLC, one legal team supporting Camp Lejeune victims, 3,759 lawsuits had been filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina as of June 18, 2026. Of those, only 167 had been dismissed.
Miller and Zois also note that, for Track 1 plaintiffs, the expert discovery for major scientific phases had ended. Legal teams now must argue over which scientific evidence will be allowed at trial. There remains no Track 1 trial date, and no discovery plan for Track 2 plaintiffs.
Among the legal wranglings that have attempted to water down the protections intended by Congress for Camp Lejeune victims, as of June 2, the team at Miller and Zois said that the government was “aggressively challenging expert opinions in leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases.” The Miller and Zois team noted that the Camp Lejeune Justice Act “was supposed to remove barriers to justice, not replace them with a maze of expert challenges with the hope of making proof impossible.”
Fixing Camp Lejeune Justice Act Failures
In June 2025, Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D., introduced the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act of 2025, H.R.4145, to propose updates to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. In a press release, Murphy said that “Currently, there are 408,000 pending claims with the Department of the Navy. Despite the overwhelming number of claims received, not a single case has gone to trial while the Department of Justice litigates against victims.“
The Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act would “correct the record and ensure victims have access to appropriate justice.” Proposed changes include allowing for jury trials, noting that victims “must show causation,” allowing for hearings in any North or South Carolina federal court, and limiting the amount of fees attorneys can receive from settlements.
SOAA supports the passage of the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act, and any efforts that bring swifter compensation to victims whose injuries have gone too long without remedy.
