Attorneys for Camp Lejeune water contamination victims are asking a federal court to limit how the government can reduce potential damage awards.
Under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, the government can offset a victim's payout based on certain federal benefits already received. However, lawyers for the Plaintiffs’ Leadership Group argue the government should not consider future benefits or payments from programs like TRICARE, which they contend are not covered by the law.
They also argue that disability benefits should not be deducted from awards for pain and suffering and that past medical bills paid by the VA or Medicare should be excluded as these amounts would "zero out" and waste court time.
Attorney J. Edward Bell III told the court that if the government is claiming an offset, “We ought to be able to claim that same amount of medical coverage you are assuming it's valued at as a damage on our side.”
He added that those treated at the VA can’t ask for a bill to prove the dollar value of the services because they control that, and that's why they, “Think it's a wash.”
Read more about the contamination and the victims: Camp Lejeune Justice Act Series
It’s been more than three years since the Camp Lejeune Justice Act was signed into law, but for the thousands of veterans waiting on their day in court, the wheels of justice are turning slowly.
Currently, more than 3,700 lawsuits are active in North Carolina’s Eastern District. While over 140 cases have been dismissed—mostly voluntarily—the vast majority are now split between four federal judges. It is a massive undertaking, and the numbers on the administrative side are even more staggering. The Navy has logged over 400,000 claims, yet fewer than half of those include any supporting documents.
Attorneys for the victims say that’s a major roadblock. Right now, only about 13,000 claims meet the government’s strict threshold for the "Elective Option" settlement path.
On the legal front, the heavy lifting of scientific discovery is mostly finished. Experts have been deposed, and both sides are now fighting over how much the government should be able to deduct from potential payouts.
Victims’ advocates are pushing for Track 1 "bellwether" trials to begin as early as this spring, arguing that many sick veterans can’t afford to wait any longer. The government, however, wants to wait for final rulings on which expert testimony will even be allowed in court.
For now, tens of thousands of families remain caught in the middle of a complex battle over paperwork, science, and the timeline for real compensation.
