Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Attorney

Marines who served at Camp Lejeune between 1950 and 1985, and family members of those Marines who may have lived or worked on the base, may have suffered more danger than they thought. During that time, water contaminated with VOCs, including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and vinyl chloride, flowed through many of the major water treatment plants on the base.

As a result, many Marines, on-base staff, and their families faced an extreme risk of contamination from those dangerous chemicals, which may have substantially raised their risk of developing cancer and other illnesses.

Thanks to a newly-passed law, Marines and their family members who developed cancer or another devastating condition as a result of exposure to those hazardous chemicals may have the right to pursue compensation for their losses. Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers can help you. Contact us today to discuss your right to compensation after a diagnosis related to chemical exposure at Camp Lejeune.

Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers: Help for Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Victims

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During the years you spent at Camp Lejeune, you dedicated your time and service to the United States. Now, you have discovered that your service may have led to severe consequences, including many diseases that can impact your health and quality of life for a long time after the accident. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we understand the many challenges you may have faced due to your diagnosis, and we aim to help our clients increase their odds of making a full recovery.

Award-Winning Help for Your Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Claim

When you have a devastating diagnosis due to your exposure to volatile chemicals in the water at Camp Lejeune, you need to know that your claim receives the attention it deserves. Working with the award-winning lawyers at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers can provide you with the support and guidance you need to move through the claim process more smoothly. Our lawyers know how the claims process works and how to identify the full damages you may have sustained so that you can include them as part of the claim.

We Focus on Helping You

At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we keep our goals focused on helping you maximize the results you can get from your claim and on providing you with the comprehensive support you need for your water contamination claim. You served your country with pride.

Now, you need a team dedicated to helping to serve you. We provide comprehensive advice and support at every stage of the claim process. Our responsive team will get back to you quickly any time you have a question, increasing the odds that you will get through the claim process smoothly.

Easy Access to Our Team of Attorneys

At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we know how stressful it can prove to get to the office, talk to a lawyer, and lay out the details of your claim. We make it as easy as possible to access our team of attorneys. With many convenient locations throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, we make it easy to get into an office to see us. That easy access to our team of attorneys also means that we can offer a virtual consultation if you cannot come into the office in person for any reason.

Are you ready to start pursuing compensation for your injuries after exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune? Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today to learn more about your rights.

What Compensation Can You Recover Through a Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Claim?

Thanks to a recently passed law, Marines, family members, and anyone who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune may have the right to recover compensation for damages caused by exposure to contaminated water. However, the law does not offer a specific formula for calculating the compensation you can recover. You may need a lawyer to help you take a close look at the financial losses you have faced due to a diagnosis related to the water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

Marines and their families exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune may face several potential diagnoses, all of which can lead to high medical bills. Cancer, for example, could lead to a long stay in the hospital and a very extensive recovery.

Talk to your lawyer about the specific medical bills you have faced as a direct result of your exposure to that contaminated water. Discuss chemotherapy or radiation costs, the cost of a long stay in the hospital if needed, and the cost of any surgeries or procedures you may have needed to help treat those conditions.

In addition, talk to your lawyer about the cost of treatments you anticipate needing in the future. In many cases, you may have substantial treatments in the future. By calculating the cost of future medical treatments, you can include them as part of your claim.

Did you miss out on income as a direct result of your diagnosis?

A devastating diagnosis like cancer can make it very difficult for you to get back to work. You may end up with long stretches of time out of work, during which you cannot bring in income for yourself or your family. Talk to your lawyer about the time you had to miss at work due to your injuries, including any intermittent time off during treatments: for example, additional time off for procedures or therapy. Include missing income due to continuing appointments.

What suffering did you face because of your diagnosis?

The Camp Lejeune lawsuit allows you to pursue compensation for the suffering you may have sustained because of your diagnosis. A cancer diagnosis can lead to immense suffering in many areas of your life.

You may have ended up with significant losses, including:

  • Immense physical pain and weakness related to your diagnosis
  • The ongoing loss of independence, particularly in cases where you may have had to struggle with ongoing weakness and needed help from someone else
  • Loss of relationships since, in many cases, family members may have a hard time coping with those losses.

Talk to your lawyer about what losses you have faced so that you can include them as part of your claim.

Have you already filed for any type of government compensation for your diagnosis?

The Camp Lejeune lawsuit allows you to pursue compensation for any losses you may have sustained. However, you may not receive compensation for any losses already covered by the government. If you have already filed any type of claim, you may have the compensation you can recover reduced by that amount.

In many cases, the diagnoses that come from contaminated water exposure can lead to death. If you lost a loved one due to exposure to that contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, you might have the right to compensation for funeral and burial expenses.

Understanding the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit

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In order to file a claim through the lawsuit, you may need to show that you served at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1953 and December 1987. 

Water from two of the major treatment plants at Camp Lejeune saw high levels of contamination. At Tarawa Terrace, high levels of PCE (perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene) ended up in drinking water due to waste disposal practices used at ABC Cleaners. The contaminated wells did not get shut down until 1985. At Hadnot Point, primary water contamination occurred due to TCE (trichloroethylene).

This contamination came primarily from underground storage tanks and industrial area spills. Local waste disposal sites may also have contributed to the high levels of contaminants in the water. Like the Tarawa Terrace treatment plant, these contaminated wells at Hadnot Point did not get shut down until 1985. During that time, the contents of these wells ended up used for drinking, bathing, and general practices throughout the base, exposing many of the people who lived and worked there to these high levels of contaminants.

Common Conditions Caused by Contaminated Water

Exposure to PCE and TCE can lead to a number of damaging health impacts, including a significant increase in cancer diagnoses. Exposure to the toxic chemicals in the water at Camp Lejeune may have led to considerable health dangers.

Marines and their families may have suffered a variety of diagnoses, including:

  • Kidney cancer
  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • Cardiac defects
  • Bladder cancer
  • Leukemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Renal disease
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Infertility
  • Birth defects

To establish that you deserve compensation for those conditions, you will need to link your diagnosis to your service at Camp Lejeune.

Fighting for the Compensation You Deserve: What to Expect

Since federal law lays out the compensation you can expect when you participate in a Camp Lejeune lawsuit, you may assume that, once you clearly lay out the damages you have sustained due to your exposure to that contaminated water, you will easily get the compensation you deserve. Unfortunately, getting the full compensation you deserve may be more difficult than you anticipated. In many cases, you may end up struggling to clearly establish all the losses that went along with your diagnosis.

A cancer diagnosis may lead to immense challenges in your everyday life, as can the many behavioral and neurological problems often associated with that chemical exposure. You need an award that compensates you for all your damages. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we have the experience needed to help you navigate that claim and pursue the full compensation you deserve.

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Have you received a diagnosis related to contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune? Whether that diagnosis occurred relatively recently or you have already recovered from a long-ago diagnosis, you may have the right to compensation. However, in order to maximize your odds of getting the full compensation you deserve, you may need to show several clear things.

Try these tactics to help increase the odds that you will get the full compensation you deserve.

  • Get copies of old medical records, or keep up with your current medical records. Much of your claim will rely on the evidence of the health losses you sustained due to your diagnosis, and your medical records will clearly establish what damages you suffered.
  • Make sure you have clear evidence of any past government awards related to your diagnosis or treatment. For example, if you received disability payments, it may help to clearly show those payments since they may limit the compensation you can recover. Failure to show them may slow down your claim.
  • Keep up with any treatment needed for your diagnosis and any limitations issued by your care provider. 
  • Work with our lawyers to file your claim. It can prove difficult to clearly lay out the full compensation you deserve on your own, and you may end up fighting to get it. Talk to Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers to discuss your rights and your next steps.

At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we want to help you maximize the benefits you can get from a Camp Lejeune water contamination claim. We can help guide you through every stage of that process.

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Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit FAQ

If you lost a loved one due to contaminated drinking water exposure at Camp Lejeune, you might have the right to file a wrongful death claim that will help you pursue compensation for the loss of your loved one.

Generally, in order to file a wrongful death claim, you will need to be the closest living relative to your deceased loved one. Generally, the deceased’s spouse will have the first right to file a wrongful death claim, followed by the deceased’s children. In cases where the deceased had neither spouse nor children, the deceased’s parents might have the right to file a wrongful death claim. Keep in mind that you may have your compensation reduced by the amount of any other government award related to your loved one’s death.

A wrongful death claim can help you recover some of the same damages your loved one might have recovered had they lived to file that claim on their own. That might include compensation for medical costs, income losses to the family, and the cost of funeral and burial expenses. In addition, you may receive some financial compensation for the emotional challenges faced because of your loved one’s loss.

The VA may offer health care and some disability compensation for veterans who served at Camp Lejeune and received a diagnosis related to their exposure to dangerously contaminated water during that time. The VA may offer assistance with health services, which may make it easier for you to get the treatment you need for your ailments. However, health care through the VA may prove difficult to manage, especially in areas with relatively few available facilities.

What are my rights as a family member of a Marine or other service member who suffered a devastating diagnosis due to contaminated water exposure?

As a Marine or service member’s family member, if you lived or worked on the base at the time of the water contamination, you may have the right to file a claim for compensation, just like the service members who worked on that base. You may also have the right to receive healthcare through the VA.

However, you may need to clearly establish that:

  • You had a direct relationship with the service member who served at Camp Lejeune. You may need to show a birth certificate, adoption papers, or a marriage license.
  • A document or some type of proof that you lived or worked on the base during that time period.

You may also need to clearly show evidence of a diagnosis related to contaminated water exposure. If you do not have a diagnosis, you may not need to file a claim for compensation.

When you have a serious health diagnosis, you have enough financial worries. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we accept cases on a contingent fee basis. We will start with a free consultation, during which we will go over your right to compensation and whether you may need to pursue a claim. If you do need to move forward with a claim, we will accept compensation out of your settlement amount rather than requiring payment directly as we work on your claim.

Why do I need a lawyer to file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit?

If you have tried to get compensation or benefits from the government in the past, you likely already know what a headache it can prove to move through that process. Failure to complete your paperwork correctly can result in fewer benefits than anticipated. Filing a lawsuit, on the other hand, can prove even more complicated than simply filing a VA benefits claim or going through yet another government application.

Working with a lawyer can offer several key benefits.

  • A lawyer can help ensure that you fill out the necessary paperwork correctly the first time and that you have all the details you need to establish your right to compensation. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we have extensive experience dealing with multiple claims and lawsuits, so we can help guide you through the process.
  • A lawyer can make sure that you know your rights, including how much compensation you should realistically expect, based on the challenges you have faced and the damages you sustained due to contaminated water exposure. Without a lawyer, you may end up accepting a settlement that does not reflect your needs.
  • A lawyer can help streamline the process of pursuing that much-needed compensation. You may have substantial financial losses related to your diagnosis and the challenges you have faced, and you may have severe financial needs that you need to take into consideration. Streamlining the claim process can get those funds in your hands sooner.
  • A lawyer can help put together a case that links your diagnosis to water contamination. In order to get compensation for those losses, you need to clearly establish that link, including offering the right evidence.

At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we want to help you maximize the benefits you can recover from a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit. Contact us to learn more about how we can help guide you through the process.

When should I contact an attorney?

While you have time to file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit, ideally, you should start moving forward with your claim as soon as possible. Talk to an attorney when you realize that you may need to file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit. If you receive a diagnosis related to your service, you may want to contact an attorney to learn about your options and your right to compensation.

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Contact a Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Attorney Today

Russell Nicolet
Russell Nicolet, Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Attorney

Suppose you or a loved one faced a devastating diagnosis as a result of exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune between 1950 and 1985. In that case, you might need a lawyer to help walk you through the claim process and help you pursue the full compensation you deserve. Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers at 866-663-8774 to discuss your next steps and your right to compensation.