When Good isn't Good enough

Camp Lejeune: Past Water Contamination

Recently during an outreach event I was participating in, an attendee asked me about "Is it true I will lose my VA benefits if I file a Camp LeJeune claim?" Section 804 of the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act addresses people who lived at Camp Lejeune. This law is also called the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. I didn't have a definitive answer because I didn't know.

When I got back to the office I searched and searched and finally found some answers. Like most rabbit holes, this led to more...

Here is what I have learned

Short Answer: Will filing a lawsuit affect my VA benefits or health care?

"No. Filing a lawsuit under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 won’t affect your eligibility for VA disability or health care benefits.

If the court awards you relief under this law (or if a court awarded relief in the past), this won’t affect the amount of your VA disability payments or your eligibility for VA health care. "

Short Answer: Will my VA benefits affect my award from a lawsuit?

"Yes, in some cases. Your benefits may affect your award if both of these descriptions are true: 

• A court awards you relief as a result of a lawsuit filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, and  
• You already get VA benefits or health care related to exposure to water at Camp Lejeune

The court must reduce (or “offset”) the award by the amount of any related disability award, payment, or benefit we provided to you or your legal representative.

VA benefits that aren’t related to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune won’t affect your award from a lawsuit."

The subtle difference is your VA Benefits will not be impacted, but the amount of your court awarded relief may be offset by any benefits you have been receiving already for exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune.

Case Closed? NO

For whatever reason, the final version of the bill removed the provision to cap the attorney fees. "The Camp Lejeune Lawsuit Racket" explains in detail (paywall) but can find snippets across the web that give you the picture.

Also the following from this website. Not an endorsement, but a very straight forward explanation.

"Historically, negligence claims filed against the federal government are brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

For example, before the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) was signed into law, Camp Lejeune victims filed lawsuits against the federal government under the FTCA.

In most environmental tort cases where liability is disputed, law firms typically charge a 40% contingency fee.

However, under Section 2678 of the Federal Tort Claims Act, the attorney fees in tort claims brought against employees of the federal government are capped at a percentage of 20% or 25%, depending on the stage of the case.

This attorney fee provision was later removed from the Senate’s 2022 version of the bill [S.3176]. However, Section 2(g) of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which incorporates the claims process of the FTCA, remained in the final bill passed by Congress and signed into law. As a result, Camp Lejeune attorney fees should be limited pursuant to the “spirit” of the bill.

Many clients have told us that other firms are charging 33% to 45% contingency fees for Camp Lejeune cases. These fee percentages are outrageous because for many claims, the injury suffered [e.g. bladder cancer] is presumed to have been caused by the toxic water at Camp Lejeune. As a result, liability is not in dispute."

The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign wars Veterans Service Organization want this corrected. You should want this corrected too.

Good news / Bad news

H.R.925 - Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act and S.378 - Protect Camp Lejeune VETS Act were introduced on 09FEB23.

“(i) 12 percent of the payment made in the action for an administrative claim (including a resubmission of an administrative claim after the denial of an initial administrative claim); or

“(ii) 17 percent of the payment made in the action for a judgment rendered or settlement entered in an action filed under subsection (b).

Bad news, how long will it take to enact this.