Exposed to Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune?

The presumptive service-connected diseases are:

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

As explained above, generally to obtain VA disability compensation, a Veteran must show three things: (1) a current disability, (2) an in-service injury or illness, and (3) a link between the in-service injury or illness and the current disability.

Under the VA rules regarding Camp Lejeune, Veterans with certain service experience do not need to prove an in-service injury or illness the same way they would for other claims—instead the injury (exposure to contaminated water) is presumed if the Veteran:

• Received a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable from active duty, reserve, or National Guard service; and
• Served at Camp Lejeune (or MCAS New River) for a total of at least 30 days – consecutive or non-consecutive – between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987

If you do, you can take these steps:

File an Original Claim

If you do not already have a VA disability claim, you can complete and submit VA Form 21-526 EZ to your local VA Regional Office. When you submit your application, the VA will request or look for the following:

• Records that show you served at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for a total of at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.
• Medical evidence that shows you currently suffer from one of the eight presumptive conditions.

The VA can obtain VA treatment records and service personnel and treatment records directly—but if you have evidence showing qualifying service and a qualifying disability, it will help your claim.

Existing Claims

If you already have a VA Ratings Decision denying your claim, you have multiple options to appeal that decision. Click here to learn more about your appeal options.

The attorneys at Berry Law Firm have a deep understanding of the rules for service connection for disability resulting from contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. We have experience and a track record of success in getting VA disability benefits in these cases. Contact us today if you believe the VA has wrongfully denied your claim.

If you served at least 30 days of active duty at Camp Lejeune between January 1, 1957, and December 31, 1987, the VA will provide free VA health care for the treatment of 15 qualifying health conditions. Those conditions are:

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

If you are a family member of a veteran who lived at Camp Lejeune during the above time period and suffer from one of those 15 conditions, the VA will reimburse you for all costs that health insurance does not cover.

Under the rule that allows presumptive service connection for compensation, the VA presumes that the following disabilities are related to Camp Lejeune water contamination:

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

If a Veteran has a current disability that is not on this list, he or she can still receive VA disability compensation for it, but the Veteran’s claim and evidence collected by the VA must show that the disability is at least as likely as not related to the Veteran’s service or exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

For example, many Veterans who once served at Camp Lejeune and were exposed to contaminated drinking water have forms of cancer other than those listed above. If those Veterans can provide, or if the VA obtains, medical evidence showing it is at least as likely as not that their cancer was caused by or made worse by the contaminated water, then they might be entitled to VA disability compensation.

For most cancer conditions, Veterans are entitled to a total 100 percent rating for active, symptomatic cancers, continuing for a period of years after treatment or diagnoses. After the first period of years, the Veteran must attend a VA examination to determination any remaining residual disability due to the condition, which may warrant some compensation. Generally, asymptomatic conditions are assigned a 0 percent disability rating, meaning the Veteran gets no monthly disability compensation for that condition.

Click here to learn more about how the VA assigns disability ratings and determines the amount of monthly disability compensation.