When I left the Marines, I didn’t think much of Camp Lejeune. Around 2006, I received a letter from the Marines with a generic overview of the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987. It was so nondescript that I thought little of it and went on with life. I didn’t hear a word about Camp Lejeune or the toxic water again.
First, settle the Lejeune lawsuits quickly. In the PACT Act, Congress authorized over 1 million people to sue the military for the toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune. Litigation lawyers are running ads online, on television, and in print. The bombardment of these ads, along with a long public trial, could cause lasting damage to the entire military recruiting effort. And it is critical that lawmakers be prepared for sticker shock on the bill, which could total over $10 billion, if 10 percent of the affected million people receive $100,000 each.
“The TV ads are harmful to veterans and leading them down the path of misinformation,” Herm Breuer, the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission’s executive director, said. “Some of the ads are deceiving. We’re seeing a broad brush with people on TV. Attorneys can be predatory on TV. They said, ‘If you were in Camp Lejeune, you’re eligible and you can get money now.’ We’ve received hundreds of calls since the commercials started.”
In addition, Burks also hailed passage of the PACT Act, which expands free health care for roughly 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Burks says the PACT Act also offers benefits to dependents of affected veterans.
Because millions of people lived on the Camp Lejeune grounds for decades, there is a wide range of individuals that are affected by the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. In addition to the military members who lived on the base, their family members, non-military workers, civilian contractors, and other long-term residents who were on the military base for more than 30 days qualify for lawsuits under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.