The VA is considering the expansion of the 2012 Act passed by the Obama Administration that grants benefits to veterans and their families who lived at Camp LeJeune for at least thirty days between 1953 and 1987. Although the current Act covers 15 diseases that could result from exposure to water toxins at the base, the expansion would establish “presumptive status” for those who were exposed. This means that veterans and their families would be able to more easily receive benefits because it will be presumed that certain illnesses are the result of the exposed veterans’ military service.
Service members and their families who lived at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina between 1953 and 1987 were exposed to a number of toxins as a result of well water tainted by industrial chemicals. The water was discovered to have contained cancer-causing toxins in the 1980’s, leading to a shut down of the wells.
Despite many veterans seeking benefits for diseases linked to their service at the base, the VA continued to deny such claims until 2012 when the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act was passed to provide veterans with benefits for illnesses linked to Camp LeJeune. The Act was spurred by the tragic death of a 9 year old who was born on the base and succumbed to a rare form of cancer.
Currently, illnesses covered under the 2012 Act include esophageal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes, renal toxicity, hepatic steatosis, female infertility, miscarriage, scleroderma, neurobehavioral effects, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The VA will reimburse veterans and their family members for out of pocket medical expenses related to treatments of those conditions. For more information regarding Camp LeJeune benefits, click here.
If you have suffered a workplace injury or have incurred a disability connected to your military service, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an experienced attorney who can advise you regarding your legal rights. Call the disability and Workers’ Compensation attorneys at The law McIntyre, Donohue, Accardi, Salmonson & Riordan, LLP at (866)557-7500.
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