Did you know groundwater makes up for 99% of liquid freshwater on the planet and comprises 25% of water consumed by humans? What happens when that same water is contaminated?
Camp Lejeune is a military base in North Carolina that was home to thousands of Marines and their families throughout its existence. Although Camp Lejeune has been closed for years, the waters on the base may have led to severe health problems for thousands of veterans stationed there. Here are the steps to file a water contamination lawsuit if you think you are a victim.
Learn Your Rights
Military personnel and veterans have different rights, so it’s essential to understand your options. The time limits for filing a Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Lawsuit may not be the same for other groups. You can learn more about these differences here.
Additionally, you may have additional rights if you qualify as a spouse or child of someone exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. If you think this could be true for you, we recommend speaking with an attorney as soon as possible so that they can help guide you through the process of filing suit on behalf of yourself and any children who qualify for inclusion in your case.
Review the Medical Literature
To understand how a water contamination injury may have affected your health, it’s essential to review the medical literature. The medical literature is a collection of all the scientific research on a topic. Doctors use this information to diagnose and treat their patients. Reviewing the medical literature for symptoms similar to yours can identify if you are eligible for compensation.
The first step in investigating potential water contamination injuries is identifying what type of illness you have had since exposure to toxic chemicals at Camp Lejeune or elsewhere. Several conditions could be related to neurological disorders (such as Alzheimer’s disease), respiratory diseases (such as asthma), cancers (including leukemia), reproductive health problems (like infertility), kidney damage, and cardiovascular disease, among others.
Talk to a Lawyer
If you think that you or a loved one suffered health problems due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, it is essential to talk with an attorney who may be able to help you with filing a claim. An attorney can guide you through filing a claim and representing your interests in court if necessary. They can also assist with the paperwork needed for such litigation, which can be complicated even for those with legal experience.
If an attorney has advised that there are no legal grounds under which they could file suit against the government on behalf of their client. They may still recommend consulting with another specialist who can determine whether any other avenues of recovery might exist outside of court systems (for example, workers’ compensation).
Collect Your Medical Records
Once you file a Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuit, collecting your medical records is essential. As part of your claim, you’ll need to prove that exposure to contaminated water caused your illness or injury.
You should request copies of all hospital records from any treatment you’ve received for symptoms of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. These records will include doctors’ notes about what causes their symptoms and how long they lasted. They may also have lab tests that indicate levels of chemicals in their blood or urine after exposure occurs.
Check if You Are Eligible for Compensation
With two billion people lacking access to safe drinking water at home, it can be challenging to know where the infection came from. You might be eligible for compensation if you served in the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune between July 1, 1957, and December 31, 1987. You must have been stationed there for at least one year and have suffered harm from your exposure to the toxic water.
A lawyer can help you determine whether or not you are eligible for compensation under this law. You mustn’t wait to get help from a lawyer until after filing an application with the VA. If you do so first, any evidence that could advance your case directly after filing will be lost forever when the VA sends back its rejection letter.
Fill Out the Required Paperwork
You will need to fill out the right paperwork. If you do not fill out the right paperwork and submit it by the deadline, you could lose your chance to file a claim. There are two sets of forms – one for military members who lived at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987 and another for their spouses or children who lived there at any time.
You can get help filling out these forms from a lawyer or paralegal if you have trouble with them, but you must do as much of this process as possible to make no mistakes that would make your case invalid.
Conclusion
The Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuit is one of the largest in U.S. history, with over 5,000 claims over contaminated water after Joe Biden signed the PACT Act, a veterans’ healthcare and benefits bill.
The military has tried to block many of these claims by arguing that there isn’t enough scientific evidence showing that exposure to toxins causes cancer or other serious health problems. However, studies have shown that even low levels of contamination can cause serious long-term health effects.
