Victims who meet the qualifying criteria will be able to pursue their claims by filing a tort lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Under the newly enacted CLJA, anyone who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days between 1953 and 1987 will be entitled to bring a tort suit for injuries related to the contaminated water. The CLJA requires all plaintiffs to go through a 6-month administrative claim process:
(h) Disposition By Federal Agency Required.- An individual may not bring an action under this section before complying with section 2675 of title 28, United States Code.
Before filing a bad water lawsuit, prospective plaintiffs must submit a claim to the “appropriate federal agency” before they can file an actual civil lawsuit against the government. In this case, that is the JAG at the Department of Navy. The new law gives the agency 6-months to either accept or deny the claim. Claimants cannot file their lawsuit in federal court until the administrative claim is denied or the 6-month deadline expires.
It is expected that the CLJA administrative claims could function more like a settlement mediation process. Claims will likely go through some type of initial screening process. After this, reasonable Camp Lejeune settlement amounts might be made before the six months expire and a water contamination lawsuit can be brought. A large number of Camp Lejeune claims may be settled during this administrative claim process before a civil lawsuit is filed.
If you have questions or would like a free case review, you can call Attorney Brandon Newberry directly at 317-428-2084 or email bnewberry@pinyerdlaw.com. If you are a Veteran reading this, Thank You for your Service!