It’s been over six years since a U.S. Supreme Court decision limited Camp Lejeune water contamination victims from taking legal action due to North Carolina’s statute of repose barring individuals from suing more than 10 years after exposure; however, a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) on Sept. 25 could give survivors hope.
According to a statement from the Tillis Senate office, the courts “prohibited retroactive application” of prior legislation catered for people with diseases manifesting years after exposure. The new legislation, called the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, aims to correct a past interpretation of state law in federal court deemed faulty by Tillis.
“The bill introduced by Sen. Tillis creates a federal cause of action allowing veterans who were exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune to bring suit and seek payment for damages, which is in line with the intent of the N.C. law, as amended,” the Tillis Senate office said.
The bill proposes “to correct unintended injuries unique to Marine families stationed at Camp Lejeune due to an anomaly in the application of North Carolina law in the federal court system,” said a Tillis press release.
“Due to a convoluted trail of legal interpretations, the current application of North Carolina law keeps veterans and their families affected by water contamination issues at Camp Lejeune from getting their day in court for often-crippling and deadly medical conditions they have suffered,” Tillis said in the release. “This legislation provides a fix so these victims will be treated like others would be treated in other states and territories.”
The release says that when clarification of state law is needed, “federal procedure allows for a certification process between the federal system and the highest court within a state’s system to determine the controlling state law.” Tillis claims North Carolina did not have this procedure during Camp Lejeune water contamination cases.
Attorney Ryan Spencer says the legislation appears to be an attempt to bypass the state’s 10-year statute of repose.
“The federal level didn’t have an explanation of what the process was to move forward, so they defaulted to North Carolina because that was where the injuries occurred,” Spencer said. “If it goes through, I will be elated. I will be happy for the people who were injured by it. There are a lot of problems that those chemicals cause, and it’ll give a right to an actual cash payment for some of these people that otherwise right now are in a void.”
According to the release, North Carolina has “taken necessary corrective action to show that North Carolina law is contrary to what the federal attorneys asserted.”
The introduction of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act came just two days after the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs unanimously passed legislation introduced by Tillis to reform and improve how veterans who have had toxic exposure receive healthcare and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The Toxic Exposures in the American Military (TEAM) Act makes VA treatment for conditions related to toxic exposure free of charge and “establishes an independent scientific commission tasked with researching the health effects of such toxic exposure and reporting its findings to VA and Congress,” according to the summary.
The VA website recognizes veterans who served at Camp Lejeune or Marine Corps Air Station New River for 30 cumulative days from August 1953 to December 1987 who have at least one of eight presumptive conditions may be eligible for disability benefits. Additionally, these veterans and their family members with exposure to the contaminated drinking water during that period may be reimbursed for out-of-pocket health care costs related to any of 15 conditions.