Finally, in 1985, the military shut down two wells that contained the contaminated water. The move came only after heavy pressure from veterans, families and veterans advocacy groups.

In January 2017, the VA published a new rule that makes it easier for veterans to obtain disability benefits or increase their disability rating if they suffer from one of eight diseases associated with the contaminated water. The VA presumes that the veteran incurred or aggravated the disease while in service at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River, which is located on the military base, and that the veteran suffers from a disability.

The presumptive service-connected diseases are:

Again, the VA presumes that these diseases are service-connected. So, the VA does not require veterans to provide proof that the contaminated water caused their illness. Instead, a veteran must prove the following:

File an Original Claim

If you do not already have a VA disability claim, you can apply for benefits online or complete and mail VA Form 21-526 to your local VA Regional Office. When you submit your application, the VA requires you to do the following:

State in block 13 of the online application or block 11 of the printed form that you suffer from one of the presumed Camp Lejeune illnesses.

Existing Claims

If you already have a VA Ratings Decision which denied your claim, you must file an appeal within one year after the VA issues that decision or the decision becomes final.  A Rating Decision appeal is called a Notice of Disagreement (NOD). You file the notice with your VA Regional Office.

If the Regional Office does not satisfactorily resolve your claim, you can file a VAF-9 and appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) which will conduct a review of the Regional Office decision.

If the VA denied your initial claim or gave you a low Ratings Decision more than one year ago, and you did not appeal the decision, you may try to reopen your claim. The VA will reopen a claim if it includes new and material evidence such as the diagnosis of an illness that the VA now considers to be a “presumptive condition.”

If you have a VA disability claim and receive benefits, you may need to file a new claim. You would base the claim on new evidence of a disabling illness. Unlike a reopened claim, the VA will evaluate a new claim without consideration of any earlier claim decision.

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 treatment of 15 “qualifying health conditions.” Those conditions are:

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.