What Are the Symptoms of Illnesses & Diseases of Camp Lejeune Water Contamination?
Veterans and their families who served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune between the years 1953 and 1987 are now able to hold at-fault parties accountable for their actions. The base’s negligence has led to thousands of injured and diseased individuals who were promised safe living conditions.
To obtain compensation, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs states you must have served on the base for at least 30 days between August 1953 through December 1987, and you must not have received a dishonorable discharge.
Recent legislation has expanded veterans’ benefits and outlined specific conditions victims could collect compensation for.
What Chemicals Were in Camp Lejeune’s Drinking Water?
Lab results revealed that two wells on the base—the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point water treatment plants—contained several toxic chemicals that made their way into Camp Lejeune’s drinking water.
The sources of the contamination included waste from an off-base dry-cleaning company, leaking storage tanks, waste disposal sites, and more.
The Tarawa Terrace water treatment plant was mainly contaminated with a chemical called perchloroethylene (PCE). The Hadnot Point water treatment plant contained various chemicals, including trichloroethylene (TCE), PCE, benzene, and vinyl chloride.
These chemicals have been analyzed and linked to deadly illnesses, diseases, and in some cases a wrongful death that veterans and their families currently suffer from.
What Diseases/Illnesses Were Caused by Camp Lejeune’s Water?
Cases like these produce many different outcomes that ultimately depend on each person’s circumstances. One exposed individual could have minor symptoms and illnesses, whereas another might never recover fully.
Factors that Determine the Severity of Your Condition
The exact severity and type of illness depend on the following:
- Whether you were pregnant during exposure
- How much chemical exposure you experienced
- The duration of your exposure
- Your personal traits and habits
- The type of chemical you were exposed to
Diseases Directly Connected to Chemicals at Camp Lejeune
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry examined 16 diseases directly connected to the chemicals that contaminated Camp Lejeune’s water. The ATSDR breaks down each chemical recovered from the base’s water and details their linked health conditions. The chemicals and their related diseases and illnesses are listed below:
- TCE – Kidney cancer, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Cardiac defects
- PCE – Bladder cancer
- Benzene – Leukemia and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Vinyl Chloride – Liver cancer
Diseases Lacking Evidence to Support Direct Causation
For some diseases, the ATSDR didn’t have enough definitive evidence to support direct causation between certain diseases and a specific type of chemical. While enough research supported the general connection, it wasn’t enough to provide a definitive answer.
Below are the chemicals falling into this category and their related diseases:
- TCE – Leukemia, Liver cancer, Multiple Myeloma, End-Stage Renal Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Scleroderma
- PCE – Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and End-Stage Renal Disease
- Benzene – Multiple Myeloma
Other Health Effects Related to Chemical Exposure
Aside from research done by the ATSDR, studies have revealed other diseases and health effects that Camp Lejeune’s water exposure might have caused. One study showed a positive connection between TCE and PCE and multiple health effects, including birth defects, miscarriages, breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, and many more.
Symptoms Associated with the Chemicals at Camp Lejeune
Given the many diseases that could come from toxic drinking water, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact symptoms you may experience. Generally, exposure to certain chemicals at Camp Lejeune might cause dizziness, headaches, fatigue, nausea, and weakness.
How to Get Compensated for Toxic Water Exposure
You could file a claim with the VA for disability benefits to get the compensation you need to recover. To do so, you must have one of the following qualifying conditions:
- Leukemia
- Aplastic anemia
- Bladder Cancer
- Kidney Cancer
- Liver Cancer
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Parkinson’s Disease
Your family might also be eligible for VA benefits for the following illnesses and health effects:
- Bladder cancer
- Miscarriage
- Breast cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Infertility
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Neurobehavioral effects
- Hepatic steatosis
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Renal Toxicity
- Scleroderma
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Lung cancer
The PACT Act Now Allows Victims to File a Lawsuit
Another way to recover compensation is to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault parties. The formal passing of the PACT Act, signed by President Biden on August 10, 2022, gives all victims stationed at Camp Lejeune during the time of contamination the right to pursue monetary recovery.
This is primarily due to the extreme negligence committed by federal officials on location at Camp Lejeune. Their failure to clean up the contaminated water and warn those living on the base breached the duty of care and resulted in significant damage to victims.
Pursue Compensation with a Law Giant
You or your family might have suffered from one or many qualifying conditions. If so, you now have legal grounds to pursue a personal injury claim to recover everything you lost.
The Law Giant has helped thousands like you recover the compensation they need to heal from their injuries. You might have accumulated a mountain of bills or lost a loved one. In either case, we’ll walk you through the steps of the legal process and pursue justice. Call 210-664-3441 for a free consultation.
