Department of Justice Creates Elective Option To Quickly Process Claims Under The Camp Lejeune Justice Act
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (September 9, 2023) – A new program by the Justice Department and Department of the Navy aims to expedite claims under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.
The new, voluntary process has been dubbed the “Elective Option.” The goal of the new process is to increase transparency and expedite the settlement process.
This comes after President Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act in 2022. Between August 1, 1953 through December 31, 1987 the water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride (VC) and benzene.
It has been estimated that as many as 1,000,000 people were exposed to the contaminated water. For many years, veterans and those who stayed at the base were not able to pursue claims due to legal hurdles.
But that has now changed. Hundreds of thousands of people have already pursued claims. The Elective Option will hopefully make that process much easier for more people.
According to Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven, “The Elective Option presented today should be of great interest to eligible Americans who seek a streamlined process to resolve their claims.”
Benefits of The Elective Option
A person must have suffered a specific qualifying injury in order to recieve benifits under the Elective Option. Under the program, claims are paid out under two tier systems depending on an individual’s diagnosis.
Tier 1 Diagnoses: A Tier 1 diagnoses includes all diseases and illnesses with substantiated evidence of causation as determined by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). There are several illnesses that fall under this tier list including kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and bladder cancer. The amount of compensation that a person can receive from a Tier 1 diagnoses will depend on the length of their exposure.
- Tier 1 Qualifying Injury 30 days – 364 days: $150,000
- Tier 1 Qualifying Injury 1 year – 5 years: $300,000
- Tier 1 Qualifying Injury 5 years or more: $450,000
Tier 2 Diagnoses: A Tier 2 diagnoses includes all diseases and illnesses with linked possible evidence of causation as determined by the (ATSDR). There are several illnesses that fall under this tier list including multiple myeloma, Parkinson’s disease, Kidney disease (end stage renal disease) and Systemic sclerosis/systemic scleroderma. Similar to Tier 1 illnesses, the value of a Tier 2 illness depends on the time a person stayed at Camp Lejeune.
- Tier 2 Qualifying Injury 30 days – 364 days: $100,000
- Tier 2 Qualifying Injury 1 year – 5 years: $250,000
- Tier 2 Qualifying Injury 5 years or more: $400,000
An additional $100,000 is available in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 cases when a death is involved.
Getting legal Help For Camp Lejeune Illnesses
If you lived or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, now is the time to act. Our team of toxic tort lawyers at Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. are here for you. We are committed to getting all people who stayed at Camp Lejeune the justice that they deserve.
Our attorneys work entirely off of a contingency fee basis and only get paid if they are able to successfully resolve your case. We have over 39 years of experienced getting justice for our clients. In fact, we have recovered over $1 billion for our clients. Call us today for a free case evaluation at 800-529-9997.
