Recently Announced Elective Option Could Lead To Faster Settlements For Victims & Families

Tier One

-Kidney Cancer

-Liver Cancer

-Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

-Leukemias

-Bladder Cancer

Tier Two

-Multiple Myeloma

-Parkinson's Disease

-Kidney Disease/End Stage Renal Disease

-Systemic Sclerosis/Systemic Scleroderma

Other conditions or diagnoses that may be accepted include:

-ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)

-Brain Cancer

-Cervical Cancer

-Female Infertility (diagnosed while on base)

-Hepatic Steatosis (fatty liver disease)

-Lung Cancer

-Neural Tube Defects

-Soft Tissue Sarcoma

-Pancreatic Cancer

This framework, known as the "Elective Option" or "EO," was unveiled just after the Camp Lejeune Justice Act's first anniversary, commemorated on August 10, 2023.

The Elective Option framework delineates the compensation amounts available to individual claimants and is solely determined based on a claimant's diagnosis and the duration of their exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

Other factors, such as the severity or duration of the illness, the required treatment, or the impact of the disease on the claimant's life, are not considered.

Furthermore, claimants who suffer from multiple qualifying diseases will only receive compensation for one disease.

The compensation amounts are structured as follows, categorized by the length of exposure and the type of qualifying injury:

Length of Exposure:

30 to 364 days

1 year to 5 years

More than 5 years

Tier 1 Qualifying Injury:

$150,000

$300,000

$450,000

Tier 2 Qualifying Injury:

$100,000

$250,000

$400,000

In cases where a qualifying injury or disease results in the claimant's death, an additional $100,000 will be offered.

However, it's important to note that the Navy's guidance document does not clarify the distribution of payments for deceased victims, raising concerns about how these payments will be allocated, whether it be according to the decedent's will, the intestacy laws of North Carolina, the laws of the state where the decedent resided at the time of their passing, or through some other mechanism.

To establish a Qualifying Injury, claimants must prove that they have one of the qualifying injuries listed in the framework.

The burden of meeting these requirements is substantial, mainly since many claimants were diagnosed or treated for their Camp Lejeune-related injuries several decades ago, making it exceedingly difficult to procure the necessary records.

In addition to proving a Qualifying Injury, claimants must demonstrate their Duration of Exposure.

This requires evidence that they lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.

Importantly, claimants cannot rely on affidavits or statements for this purpose; they must substantiate their exposure through housing or employment documentation such as military service records, tax returns, driver's licenses, pay stubs, or employment contracts.

Like the medical documentation, this places a significant burden on claimants, as it is unlikely that they can obtain such documents decades later.

For claimants seeking to establish that a qualifying injury or disease resulted in death, additional documentation is required.

They must provide a "long form" death certificate containing a medical report detailing the cause of death or a signed letter from the decedent's treating physician.

it's important to note that the Navy still needs to provide a timeline for evaluating claims under the Elective Option framework.

Given that over 90,000 administrative claims have already been submitted to the Navy, the evaluation process is expected to be lengthy, and settlement offers are unlikely imminent.

In conclusion, while the Elective Option framework represents a step forward in addressing the issues stemming from water contamination at Camp Lejeune, it is just the beginning of a long journey for the victims seeking justice.