Camp Lejeune

Many personal injury law firms will ask a client to pay money upfront to represent them. Not with Wettermark Keith. Clients don’t pay anything until our firm wins your case. Our firm operates on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case. Any legal fees and associated costs will be collected from your winnings at the conclusion of the case. If your attorney is not able to obtain a verdict or settlement for your injury, you will not be charged any legal fees for their efforts.

Trichloroethylene

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a VOC used in many industrial and commercial processes. It is useful in cleaning products, furniture care products, arts and crafts spray coatings, and automotive care products. TCE has been classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure.

Tetrachloroethylene

Tetrachloroethylene is also sometimes known as perchloroethylene (PCE). PCE is often used in dry cleaning agents and as a solvent for metal degreasers. Like TCE, The EPA has determined that PCE is carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure. Some state agencies warn that OCE is to be handled with extreme caution and can cause reproductive damage.

Dichloroethylene

Dichloroethylene (DCE) is classified by the EPA as a possible human carcinogen. DCE is used in the manufacturing process to produce food packaging materials and flame retardant coatings for fiber and carpet backing and in piping, coating for steek pipes, and adhesive applications.

Benzene

Benzene is found both in the natural environment and in manmade applications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires, and is a natural part of crude oil gasoline cigarette smoke. Benzene also regularly ranks in the list of top 20 chemicals for production volume. It is used in a wide range of industries to make plastics, resins, nylon, synthetic fibers, detergents, lubricants, drugs, and pesticides. Exposure to benzene has been shown to cause numerous health effects such as cancer and anemia.

Vinyl Chloride

Vinyl Chloride is not a naturally occurring substance. It is produced industrially for certain commercial uses. The primary use of vinyl chloride is to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC is used to make plastic products such as pies, wires, and cable coatings. Exposure to vinyl chloride is linked to an increased risk of developing cancers.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act does not list specific diseases that are covered.  Anybody can sue if they were exposed to the toxic water for at 30 days between 1953 and 1987.  However, certain diseases are more closely associated with exposure to the toxic water at Camp Lejeune.

Here is a list of some of the medical conditions and diseases that the government itself has linked to Camp Lejeune toxic water exposure.  Please know that this is not an exhaustive list.  If you were exposed and suffer from a different disease, you may still be entitled to compensation:

• Aplastic anemia
• Bile duct cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Brain cancer
• Cardiac birth defects
• Cervical cancer
• Colon cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Female breast cancer
• Female infertility
• Scleroderma
• Thyroid Cancer

Again, even if a condition or disease is not listed above, it may still have been caused by the toxic water at Camp Lejeune and, if so, we will help investigate.

The amount of benefits you could receive from your VA Camp Lejeune lawsuit will depend very heavily on the particulars of your case. Wettermark Keith attorneys will work to get you the most compensation possible. Every victim from the camp will have been exposed to different levels of TCE and PCE for different periods of time. This exposure will also affect everyone differently, so there is no definitive answer.

While every VA case will be different, a number of factors will impact how much compensation and type of disability benefits you can receive if you file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit.

Consider things like:

• The illnesses or diseases you’ve been diagnosed with
• The prognosis you have been given
• Any past, future, and medical expenses due to your water contamination illness
• All of the income you’ve lost out on because of your medical condition
• Miscellaneous out-of-pocket expenses
• The pain and suffering you’ve endured
• Age

The more serious your conditions and the more you’ve had to put your life on hold due to those conditions, the more likely you are to receive disability and reimbursement from the VA.

Some people claiming to be VA lawyers may contact veterans, promising them settlement checks for their time in Camp Lejeune.

If you are a veteran and have been contacted by a veterans affairs lawyers who promise you a settlement before meeting with you and considering the details of your specific case, this is almost certainly a scam.

No lawyer will contact you about a settlement check or ask you for your bank details without discussing your case first.

Medical benefits apply to veterans and Camp Lejeune family members who lived on the base for a total of 30 or more days during the contaminant window as part of the camp’s family member program.

If this applies to you, you may be eligible for reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical expenses and other benefits relating to your Camp Lejeune claim. A qualified attorney could help you calculate the compensation you could claim if you have subsequently developed one of the qualifying conditions and other benefits you deserve.

Veterans affairs notes that these conditions include various types of cancer, hepatic steatosis, adult leukemia, and female infertility.