Camp Lejeune Justice Act Series September 2025
It’s been more than 40 years since the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was found to be contaminated by industrial solvents and other chemicals the CDC found -- in animal studies -- can cause cancers and other illnesses after long-term exposure.
More than a million people may have been exposed, but even after a law was passed allowing them to sue the federal government for damages, very few of the more than 400,000 claims filed have moved forward.
Public Radio East News Director Annette Weston spoke with victims of the toxic water, North Carolina lawmakers working to make improvements to the initial legislation that led to the court cases, and an attorney handling hundreds of the claims made by those who were sickened.
More than a million people may have been exposed, but even after a law was passed allowing them to sue the federal government for damages, very few of the more than 400,000 claims filed have moved forward.
Public Radio East News Director Annette Weston spoke with victims of the toxic water, North Carolina lawmakers working to make improvements to the initial legislation that led to the court cases, and an attorney handling hundreds of the claims made by those who were sickened.
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The Camp Lejuene Justice Act was signed into law more than three years ago, and nearly all of the legal claims that resulted from it – more than 400,000 of them – are still mired in the legal process. -
Darlene Brooks says Jim was not only a former Marine, but a construction worker – and the illness that appeared in his 50s devastated him. "Battling breast cancer was very difficult,” she said, “For one thing, Jim did was kind of embarrassed that it was breast cancer. And you know, like we didn't hear men having breast cancer.” -
The Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act has strong bipartisan support in both chambers. Companion legislation has also been introduced in the Senate. -
Eric Flynn is a partner with the Bell Legal Group, which is handling hundreds of the toxic water cases, and he said more than 2,500 lawsuits have been filed, and 411,000 claims remain pending with the Department of the Navy after the Camp Lejeune Justice Act opened a two-year-window to sue for damages related to illnesses that may have been caused by toxic water aboard the base. That window closed just over a year ago.
Camp Lejuene Justice Act Series January 2026
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Marvin Cox served in the United States Marine Corps from 1981 to 1985. His last duty station was Camp Lejeune. He has since been diagnosed with cancer. -
"I wish they would have just said, screw you, we're not going to do it. We don't care. Go ahead and die. Stop holding out hope. Stop making us fight. You know, I mean, it's cruel,” Cathy Makely said, “It's so cruel.” -
“We were living at Geiger Trailer Park, which were these little bitty trailers that I think Eleanor Roosevelt had arranged for World War II vets to live in,” she said, “And when we found out that we would get a house in Tarawa Terrace, we were so excited about it, because then we could get out of the little bitty trailer."
Last week, the Department of Justice Civil Division announced that nearly 650 Elective Option – or settlement - offers have been approved in the past three weeks, and there have been just over 2,500 approved settlement offers since 2023. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said he’s proud of the work done to speed up the approval process in the past year. However, advocates Mike Partain and Jerry Ensminger, whose tireless research and congressional testimony turned personal tragedies into the legislative momentum behind the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, said it would take about 429 years before the Navy gets through all the claims at the current pace.
A federal court in North Carolina has dealt a significant setback to the government in the ongoing Camp Lejeune toxic water litigation, striking reports by an expert witness – a witness advocates call a “rented white coat.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr. struck the expert reports of Dr. Julie Goodman, a key witness for the Department of Justice.