If you or a loved one is suffering serious health conditions and you lived or worked at Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987, you could have a legitimate claim.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) requires that all claims be filed on standard VA forms. The form you would need to complete is VA Form 21-0966, Intent to File a Claim for Compensation and/or Pension, or Survivors Pension and/or DIC.

This form should take about 15 minutes to complete. Upon completion, you must submit the form to the DAV. This can be done in one of three ways:

• Electronically through eBenefits via https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/apply
• By phone. Contact your local DAV National Service Officer here:  https://www.dav.org/veterans/find-your-local-office/
• Mail a paper copy to a DAV National Service Office via https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/mailingaddresses.asp

You should consider consulting an attorney if your disability claim has been previously denied and you believe they can help you get a better result from the VA. Starting the initial claim by submitting VA Form 21-0966 is strongly recommended.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 is federal legislation that was included in a larger bill called Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. This bill was signed into law by President Biden in August 2022. It will deliver comprehensive benefits to all generations of veterans who have suffered due to toxic exposure, for the first time in our nation’s history. This includes veterans, their families and workers at Camp Lejeune.

This new law will allow anyone who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune from August 1, 1953, to December 31, 1987, to file a claim. They must have worked on the base for at least 30 days, have been exposed to the contaminated water and suffered injuries. Even if you are not eligible for certain VA benefits, you could still be eligible for help under the new law.

Under The Camp Lejeune Act of 2022, which was signed into law in August, the VA will provide health care assistance to veterans and their family members who lived at the Camp Lejeune base. Veterans and their family members must meet service date requirements, time-on-station requirements and must have one of the health conditions on the VA’s list.

Disability and reimbursement for out-of-pocket health care costs are also available to Camp Lejeune veterans through the VA. Disability benefits are only for veterans, but both veterans and their family members may qualify for health care benefits.

Disability benefits cover seven types of cancers and Parkinson’s disease. These benefits include compensation payments and health care. Health care benefits don’t include any compensation payments but the VA may reimburse the veteran or family member for out-of-pocket health care costs for 15 health conditions.

Veterans must have served for at least 30 cumulative days between the period of August 1953 and December 1987 and were not dishonorably discharged. The VA requires proof of service and diagnosis of one or more presumptive health conditions to qualify for disability benefits.

The presumptive conditions connected to Camp Lejeune water contamination are:

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

People who qualify for potential disability benefits include veterans, reservists and guardsmen. Under the legislation, family members aren’t eligible for disability compensation, but they can file a claim for reimbursement of health care expenses.

The VA presumes that certain disabilities were caused by military service. This is because of the unique circumstances of a specific veteran’s military service. If a presumed condition is diagnosed in a veteran within a certain group, they can be awarded disability compensation.

Presumptive service connection is important because it means that the veteran doesn’t have to prove water contamination caused their health condition. The link between the conditions and water contamination is already established through studies and research.

In the case of Camp Lejeune, all veterans and their families must provide proof of diagnosis and records that show that they lived on base for at least 30 cumulative days during the established time period.

Filing a claim under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which was signed into law by President Biden as part of the PACT Act, will not affect your VA benefits. If you file a claim due to health problems from possible contaminated water exposure, you could be compensated under the new law and you will also continue to receive your VA benefits.

Military disability benefits are available to veterans who served at Camp Lejeune and suffered negative health conditions due to toxins in the drinking water. If you were diagnosed with any of the  illnesses outlined by the VA duringi or after your time at Camp Lejeune, then you qualify as medically disabled. Most, if not all of your out-of-pocket expenses for treatment related to any of the following health conditions may be reimbursed by the VA:

• Adult leukemia
• Bladder cancer
• Breast cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Female infertility
• Hepatic steatosis
• Kidney cancer
• Lung cancer
• Miscarriage
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelodysplastic syndromes
• Neurobehavioral effects
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Renal toxicity
• Scleroderma

To file for disability benefits with the VA, you must provide your military records showing that you were at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days sometime between August 1953 and December 1987. Medical documentation is required showing that you were diagnosed with one or more of the previously stated illnesses.

Yes, thanks to the new law signed by President Biden that includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. Even if your VA claim was previously denied, you may now be eligible to receive compensation due to toxic water exposure at the base.

Yes. If you or a close family member lived at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, and developed health problems, a new law is finally providing justice to those who suffered due to contaminated water at the base. The law covers veterans, civilians who worked at the base, contractors and family members of veterans, including those who were in the womb and may have been exposed in utero during that time frame.