The legal fight over toxic water at Camp Lejeune is intensifying as lawyers for sick veterans accuse the government of using delay tactics to stall the first trials.
Attorneys for the Plaintiffs Leadership Group are pushing back against a new government request to change how victims must prove their cases. The Department of Justice wants the court to enforce a strict but-for causation standard, which would require veterans to prove they only became ill because of the base's water.
Lawyers for the victims say this is an attempt to rewrite the Camp Lejeune Justice Act and create new roadblocks for aging veterans. They argue the government is trying to delay the first bellwether trials, which are meant to set the pace for thousands of pending claims.
The government denies these claims, arguing that a clear ruling on the legal ground rules is necessary before any trials begin. For now, the court is weighing whether to decide these legal questions immediately or wait for expert witness hearings.
