PLEASE NOTE: Pintas & Mullins is no longer accepting cases related to Camp Lejeune. However, our team remains committed to providing the highest level of service in all our other practice areas.
If you worked or lived at Camp Lejeune at any time between 1953 – 1987 and later developed cancer or another serious illness, you may be eligible for financial compensation.
Even if you were previously denied disability benefits by the Veterans Administration, you may now qualify. Contact us today for a free and confidential case review.
How Camp Lejeune’s Water Became Contaminated
Camp Lejeune was founded in 1941 on the Atlantic coast of North Carolina. This large military base, like many others in this era, discharged oil and industrial wastewater into storm drains. To make matters worse, a nearby commercial business dumped wastewater containing tetrachloroethylene, a suspected carcinogen, into drains for many years. Due to lax environmental regulations, military chemists didn’t test Camp Lejeune’s drinking water thoroughly until October of 1980. These tests detected small amounts of organic compounds, or solvents, in the treated water. In separate tests to detect if there were dangerous byproducts of chlorination, further evidence of solvents in the water was found.
In 1982, Grainger Laboratories in Raleigh, N.C. was appointed to test the water at Camp Lejeune. This test showed “synthetic cleaning solvents” in the water supply for two of the base’s largest living areas where thousands of people lived.
For more than 35 years, Pintas & Mullins has represented thousands of veterans and their families.
Due to persistent reports of toxicity in water at the base, in 1984 chemists evaluated water from the wells. These tests showed the presence of gasoline at dangerously high levels. In 1985, 10 wells were closed, and news of Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water was made public. Four years passed during which everyone who lived at Camp Lejeune consumed and used water that scientists believed was highly contaminated.
Solvent levels in tap water were 280 times higher than what we currently consider to be safe. In 1989, Camp Lejeune’s fuel depot was shut down because the state of was informed that storage tanks had leaked thousands of gallons of fuel into the earth.
Today, we know that any individuals who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune between 1953-1987 may have been exposed to toxic chemicals in the water supply. It’s estimated that more than a million people used the water for nearly 35 years without knowing that it was contaminated.
According to The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), three of the eight water-distribution plants at Camp Lejeune — Hadnot Point, Tarawa Terrace, and Holcomb Boulevard — were contaminated with toxic chemicals, while the other five water treatment plants were not. However, if you only used water from one of the other five plants and later developed a serious injury, you may be entitled to compensation.
Water tests conducted in 1982 found carcinogenic substances that could cause severe, long-term damage to humans. As a result, many of the residents and workers at Camp Lejeune were diagnosed with cancer, miscarriage, birth defects, and even Parkinson’s disease.
The new law allows service members, residents, civilians, marines, and navy personnel to seek justice for injuries caused by the contaminated water supply.
There is significant financial compensation available to those who have suffered from the following cancers:
- Bladder
- Brain
- Breast
- Cervical
- Esophageal
- Kidney
- Liver
- Lung
- Ovarian
- Prostate
- Renal
- Soft Tissue
Significant compensation is also available to those who have suffered from the following serious illnesses and complications:
- Aplastic Anemia
- Birth Defect to Brain, Heart, or Spine
- End Stage Renal Disease
- Hodgkin’s Disease
- Impaired Immune System Function
- Leukemia
- Liver Cirrhosis
- Miscarriage
- Multiple Myeloma
- Myelodysplastic Syndromes
- Neurobehavioral Performance Deficits
- Neurological Effects
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Scleroderma
- Severe, Generalized Hypersensitivity Skin Disorder
- Other Illnesses
If you or a loved one came into contact with the contaminated water from Camp Lejeune between 1953 to 1987 and later developed one of the illnesses mentioned, we would like to hear from you. Even if you were at the base for as little as 30 total days, you may still be eligible for financial help. Our attorneys will help guide you through the process of recouping for any damages caused by the contamination.