Navigation VA Urging Camp Lejeune Veterans to Continue Filing Claims
The VA is urging former service members who have illnesses they believe are linked to water contamination at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to continue to seek out any potential benefits they fell they may be entitled. As of the end of January 2023, VA reported receiving 102,265 disability claims related to exposure at the Marine Corps Base since it began tracking these types of submissions over a decade ago.
However, these claims are being complicated by the PACT Act, which allows Veterans to file lawsuits in civilian courts regarding Camp Lejeune contamination but requires that any legal compensation awarded in civilian courts be “offset” by disability claims related to Camp Lejeune exposure that the Veteran is already receiving. These instructions apply to any program administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Medicare or Medicaid according to the provision. Regardless of this caveat, however, VA officials urge Veterans to move forward with their disability claims.
