Not sure about your Camp Lejeune claim?  If you have been researching other firms, here are three key questions to answer.

  • Who exactly will my lawyer be?  It's easy to respond to a TV ad and get handed off to a call center.  Make sure you know who your lawyer is, that he/she has previously worked with mass torts, and you can speak to him or her when you need. We are not TV advertisers who are simply gathering cases to pass off to other attorneys to do the real work.
  • Does my legal team know what they are doing? Camp Lejeune claims are not class actions (i.e., where everyone gets the same amount of money just by enrolling). Having a firm with experience in water contamination mass torts and proving damages can make a dramatic difference in how much you get paid. 
  • Is the compensation arrangement with my legal team fair?  If this fee rate is too high, you may not get much of a recovery, especially when expenses and offsets for prior VA medical expenses are applied. Again, The Poole Law Group, Baird Mandalas and our firm affiliates have agreed to charge a total legal fee of 25% to pursue a settlement award from the compensation fund, including if a specific case goes to trial.

If you're not comfortable with your current answers to those questions, contact us. We are a long established firm with a record of successes. We've helped many Marines and their family members over the years, and they will vouch for us. We are committed to taking good care of every Camp Lejeune claimant who hires us.

Watch attorney Bruce Poole's WBAL 11 interview on the Camp Lejeune litigation.  

 

Camp Lejeune is a United States Marine Corps Base Camp in Jacksonville, North Carolina, that is now known to be the site of an environmental and public health disaster. For over three decades, beginning in the 1950s, chemicals from leaking underground storage tanks, industrial area spills, improper waste disposal, and a nearby dry cleaner contaminated the drinking water at Camp Lejeune with toxic chemicals. Anyone who served, lived, or worked at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 may have been exposed to dangerous chemicals linked to serious illnesses such as cancer. 

On August 2, 2022, the PACT Act passed Congress, granting individuals, including veterans and their families, the right to seek justice for health conditions caused by toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune.  The Poole Law Group is working on Camp Lejeune claims with Baird Mandalas Brockstedt Federico & Cardea, LLC, an experienced environmental litigation firm with a proven track record of achieving justice for families and communities ravaged by the health impacts of toxic contamination.  Together, we are here to listen, guide, and lead clients through these cases, never losing sight of the benefit we are hired to achieve. 

Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit

Chemical Contamination of Drinking Water

In the early 1980s, multiple sources of drinking water at Camp Lejeune were found to contain cancer-causing chemicals. However, according to organizations like the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the contamination started decades earlier, in the early 1950s. There have been allegations that the government knew about the contamination for decades but failed to take action to protect the community.

Three water treatment plants that supplied family homes, schools, and buildings on the base with water – Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant, Holcomb Boulevard, and Hadnot Point Treatment Plant – were contaminated with chemicals such as benzene, trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), and vinyl chloride (VC). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, were found in the water far exceeding the maximum “safe” level.

These water systems served enlisted-family housing, barracks for unmarried service personnel, base administrative offices, the base hospital, schools, and recreational areas.

Health Impacts of Contamination

It is well established that frequent or large exposures to pollutant VOCs in drinking water are linked to several serious health conditions, including cancer, neurological damage, and other illnesses. And tragically, pregnant women who are exposed to these toxic chemicals are more likely to suffer miscarriages and the babies born are more likely to have birth defects. 

People who were exposed to contaminated water during their time serving or living at Camp Lejeune may have developed:

  • Adult leukemia
  • Aplastic anemia
  • Bladder cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Liver cancer
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Bladder cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Esophageal cancer
  • Female infertility
  • Hepatic steatosis
  • Kidney cancer
  • Leukemia
  • Lung cancer
  • Miscarriage
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Myelodysplastic syndromes
  • Neurobehavioral effects
  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • Renal toxicity
  • Scleroderma
  • Major Cardiac Birth Defects

Why Now?

In the past, the Veterans Administration denied many claims from those who may have been harmed by exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. When reviewing claims, the VA may have used physicians who were not specialists and had minimal background on issues stemming from Camp Lejeune to evaluate these claims. 

Victims have also been denied justice because of a North Carolina law that prevented toxic contamination victims from bringing a lawsuit more than 10 years after pollution takes place.

After years of suffering because of this stunning environmental contamination, there is now hope in sight for Camp Lejeune victims. In 2021, a group of dedicated citizens helped to introduce the Camp Lejeune Justice Act to Congress. The legislation proposed eliminating the legal barriers that veterans and their families faced from the uniquely unfair application of the North Carolina statute in federal courts.

The bipartisan Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 was rolled into the PACT Act, which was passed by Congress on August 2, 2022 and signed into law on August 10, 2022. The passage of this bill allows all individuals, including service members and their families, who were harmed by exposure to toxic chemicals at Camp Lejeune to seek justice by filing claims for damages. 

What We Do for You

At the Poole Law Group, we are focused on achieving justice on behalf of veterans and their families who were harmed while serving our country, and we are proud to offer the direct personal attention of our attorneys with a highly individualized focus on your matters.  

What sets us apart is a team of lawyers with significant experience fighting for communities that have been ravaged by water contamination. Our team – comprised of experts in the environment, water, engineering, and health fields – has gotten justice for families and communities who live every day with the health impacts of toxic contamination. Attorney Bruce Poole and the Poole Law Group have partnered with Baird Mandalas Brockstedt Federico & Cardea and other firms around the country including those led by former JAG attorneys, too.

Our focus on a core group of practice areas has allowed us to develop considerable expertise in our fields and the ability to offer our clients an intense and highly individualized focus on their matters. Our clients receive the direct personal attention of the attorneys, and we pride ourselves on our responsiveness and accessibility.

We are a legal team that cares about taking care of our clients. As such, we are charging a total legal fee of 25% to pursue a settlement award from the compensation fund, including if a specific case goes to trial.

We have formed and are working alongside a Military Advisory Board made up of veterans with direct expertise in the issues at play in this case. We have also created a Medical Advisory Board of highly experienced oncologists and other specialists to ensure we provide the best outcomes for our clients. We are focused on achieving justice on behalf of veterans and their families who were harmed while serving our country. Our commitment to you is Truth, Transparency, and Accountability, and we will communicate with you every step of the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will filing a claim negatively affect my current benefits from Veterans Affairs, Medicare, and Medicaid? 

No, your benefits through the VA, Medicare, and Medicaid will not be negatively affected. This litigation aims to compensate those harmed for the pain and suffering, lost wages, and other damages not covered by your current benefits, so any compensation you obtain through a lawsuit will be offset by the cost of benefits you have already received.

What will filing a lawsuit cost me? 

Our clients will not pay any up-front costs or fees. For our services and as part of our commitment to doing right by those who have served our country, our contingency fee will be 25%.  Some litigation costs will be subject to reimbursement.

Why now? 

On August 10, 2022, the PACT Act was signed into law, granting veterans and their families the ability to file lawsuits against the federal government for illnesses and other health impacts caused by toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

How will I know what is happening in the litigation? 

We will provide our clients with frequent and regular updates on the status of the litigation, and our team is always available for any questions. Our approach is to establish a first-name basis relationship with each of our clients similar to the relationship established between a VA-accredited attorney and their veteran client when working on disability and compensation benefits appeals.

Information submitted will be transmitted to The Poole Law Group. This communication is intended to be an attorney-client communication for purposes of evaluating your claim and will be kept confidential by the law firm. The communication does not create an attorney-client relationship and no relationship is formed until a fee agreement is signed by you and the law firm.