Camp Lejeune a comprehensive guide to VA disability compensation, federal tort claims, and the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.

There has been a lot of new information for veterans who served at Camp Lejeune for at least 30
cumulative days from August 1953 through December 1987. Most of this information is not new to the
savvy veterans who have been involved with the disability compensation system. What is entirely new is
that the federal government is now under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act allowing veterans to file claims
for disabilities that they incurred as a result of their service at Camp Lejeune. Many of you who might
qualify for some form of compensation from this new act have probably been bombarded by ads from
attorneys as everyone is looking to cash in on the opportunity. However, we caution to be wary of these
ads as many attorneys who are now taking clients for an issue they have no experiencing dealing with
might find themselves in over their heads.

In this article we will discuss the Camp Lejeune water act that exist for VA disability purposes. In order to
understand how we have progressed from veterans with qualifying presumptive disabilities got from
getting monthly disability checks to getting a one-time settlement from the federal government. In the
beginning the federal government originally passed the Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. This allowed
for covered health care for certain conditions linked to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. Below
is a list of qualifying health conditions for reference.

Qualifying health conditions include:
• Esophageal cancer
• Breast cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Renal toxicity
• Female infertility
• Scleroderma
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Lung cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Leukemia
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Hepatic steatosis
• Miscarriage
• Neurobehavioral effects

In addition to the qualifying health conditions for covered health care the VA also included a list of
presumptive disabilities that are automatically linked to the contaminated water if diagnosed. This list of
conditions is below.

• Adult leukemia
• Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Parkinson’s disease

So for VA disability purposes the presumptive list is not completely exclusive. Any veteran can get any
disability linked to the contaminated water. Unfortunately, unless the condition is included on the
current presumptive list that veteran will have to obtain a credible nexus opinion in order to
demonstrate that the claimed condition was at least as likely as not due to the exposure at Camp
Lejeune. So many of you are probably wondering what this has to do with the new act recently passed
by congress. Well based on our teams years of experience we feel that any condition listed above should
be one that is claimed under the new bill in a federal tort against the Navy. We think this because these
disabilities are already linked to exposure and an extensive ATSDR study done by the CDC has shown
these disabilities are directly linked to the drinking water. Another great question is how does one start a claim under the new laws. Well our group researched
the actual bill that was finally signed into law. What we discovered is that veterans who wish to bring
claims under the new bill must first file a federal tort claim on a standard form 95. This form is readily
available on the internet but special attention should be paid to the details of what the veteran and his
or her representative need to include with the new claims. Perhaps the most important document is the
medical statement which in this case is likely going to look very similar to the nexus type opinions
mentioned earlier in our article.

Next in importance is two elements the amount of claim. Right now no is really sure exactly how much
to claim and different attorneys are providing different opinions for different medical issues. However,
the reason we think this will be important is because the amount you claim on the standard form 95 is
likely to be the total amount you can claim for the case. So think before you make one of these claims
and always consult an attorney for the best advice. The second item I will touch on is the fee allowed for
attorneys who represent individuals in these cases. As far as we understand the text of this bill attorney
fees are capped at 25% of the total award. The reason I mention this is because our firm is already
hearing about attorneys requesting fees of 33% like personal injury. This is likely not allowed under
federal law and potential claimants should be wary of predatory attorneys looking to make a quick buck.
Now are firm is not claiming to be an expert on this whole process. However, I can tell you that we have
helped hundreds of veterans claim disability benefits under the Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012.
From our experience with this bill we are starting off with a working knowledge of what disabilities are
potentially most likely to win awards under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. This is do not mean that an
individual affected by a health condition not covered by VA disability benefits should not apply. On the
contrary it simply means that these individuals should have an easier time proving their claim hence the
reason why many attorneys even those without experience in veteran’s related matters are quickly
snatching clients and doing extensive advertisement.

Our firm recommends a no obligation cost free consultation with our expert attorney Karl Kazmierczak.
Mr. Kazmierczak has worked disabled veterans across the country since 2007 and represented hundreds
of veterans affected by the Camp Lejeune water who are now receiving disability compensation. He has
an expert trained staff ready to take your information for a free one on one consultation. Mr.
Kazmierczak has also worked with many doctors and groups to obtain medical opinion and is currently
actively seeking the best doctors for the new act. Call our office today at 201-337-7137