Nearly 2,300 lawsuits have been filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, and nearly a half-million administrative claims are pending before the Navy.
Officials with one of the many law firms representing victims, Miller and Zois, say most of the work has been getting individual cases ready for trial or settlement, but systemic challenges remain in reconciling records and reviewing documentation to accelerate settlements.
The Navy is trying new strategies to streamline claims processing, including a new Claims Management Portal but the law firm says it has not done a good job of getting the cases organized.
Discovery issues also persist, including disputes over co-authored expert reports.
The attorneys say that they are still fielding calls from victims who want to bring a claim but cannot because the deadline to file has passed, and they add that opening the window for only two years was a bit harsh and unfairly does not account for newly diagnosed victims.
