By Fadi Agour, J.D. · Updated November 10, 2026 · Facts last reviewed November 10, 2026
Key takeaways
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Law | Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, Section 804 of the PACT Act, signed August 10, 2022 |
| Who is covered | Anyone exposed for at least 30 days to the base water between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987, including in utero |
| Filing window | Closed in August 2024 |
| Administrative claims filed with the Navy | 408,860 |
| Lawsuits filed | 3,796 (October 8, 2026) |
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, exclusive jurisdiction |
| Trial type | Bench trial, decided by a judge |
| Settlement payments made | More than $879 million (September 18, 2026) |
| Settlement offers made | More than $1.1 billion (September 18, 2026) |
The first trial under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act finally happened this fall. Mousser v. United States, a kidney cancer claim by a former Marine who served at the base in the 1980s, was tried before Judge Terrence Boyle in Elizabeth City from October 26 to 28. The court has ruled that the statute does not give plaintiffs a jury, so the judge decides. No ruling had been issued as of early November, and a second kidney cancer trial was set to begin November 9.
At the same time, the four judges overseeing the litigation pushed both sides toward a deal. On June 30, 2026, they told plaintiffs' leadership and the Justice Department to use their best efforts to reach a global settlement by October 30, 2026. That date passed with no agreement confirmed publicly. Filings in late October showed both sides still apart on the scope of a deal and on what proof each plaintiff must provide.
Money is moving, but slowly. As of February 26, 2026, settlements had been approved for 2,353 claimants, less than 1% of everyone who filed. By September 18, payments had passed $879 million.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1942 | Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune established |
| August 1, 1953 | Start of the period covered by the Justice Act |
| 1982 | Marine Corps finds volatile organic compounds in drinking water from two base treatment plants |
| February 1985 | Most contaminated wells shut down |
| March 1987 | Tarawa Terrace treatment plant shut down |
| December 31, 1987 | End of the covered period |
| August 10, 2022 | Camp Lejeune Justice Act signed into law |
| September 6, 2023 | Justice Department and Navy announce the Elective Option |
| February 2024 | Court names the five Track 2 diseases |
| July 9, 2024 | Court confirms 25 Track 1 trial plaintiffs, five per disease |
| August 2024 | Two-year filing window closes |
| June 30, 2026 | Judges set an October 30, 2026 target for a global settlement |
| October 26-28, 2026 | First bench trial, Mousser v. United States |
| November 9, 2026 | Second Track 1 kidney cancer trial scheduled |
Camp Lejeune is a Marine Corps base near Jacksonville, North Carolina. Eight water systems have served the base. Two of them, Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point, delivered contaminated water for decades, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
Tarawa Terrace. The main contaminant was PCE, a dry-cleaning solvent. ATSDR traced it to ABC One-Hour Cleaners, an off-base dry cleaner. PCE peaked at 215 parts per billion in February 1985, against today's limit of 5. ATSDR's modeling found PCE above that limit for 346 months, from November 1957 to February 1987. The system served Tarawa Terrace family housing and the Knox trailer park.
Hadnot Point. The main contaminant was TCE, an industrial degreaser, which peaked at 1,400 parts per billion in May 1982. The water also carried PCE, benzene, vinyl chloride and trans-1,2-DCE. ATSDR estimates at least one of these exceeded today's limits from August 1953 to January 1985. Hadnot Point served the mainside barracks, the base hospital area and, until 1972, family housing at Midway Park, Paradise Point and Berkeley Manor.
Holcomb Boulevard. Its own wells were generally clean, but the system took Hadnot Point water at times from 1972 to 1985, and fully from January 27 to February 7, 1985.
ATSDR's position is that these exposures likely increased the risk of cancers, adverse birth outcomes and other health effects in residents, civilian workers, Marines and Navy personnel. Read ATSDR's own summary of the contamination.
Congress passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act as Section 804 of the Honoring Our PACT Act, signed August 10, 2022. Its key rules:
A bill in the current Congress, the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act, would revise parts of the law, including allowing jury trials. It has not passed. See the statute's text on GovInfo.
The case universe is unusually broad. It includes Marines and Navy personnel stationed at the base, spouses and children who lived in base housing, civilian employees, and people exposed before birth. Claimants today are mostly older adults, and many have died since filing, which means estates and personal representatives now carry a growing share of claims.
Proof of presence comes from different records for each group:
| Claimant | Typical proof of presence |
|---|---|
| Veteran | Service records, DD-214, unit and station records |
| Family member | Base housing records, school records, a sponsor's orders |
| Civilian worker | Employment and payroll records |
| In utero | Mother's presence records and the child's birth record |
The court sorts cases into tracks by disease so expert work can happen in groups.
How Track 1 comes out will shape how the government values everything behind it.
In September 2023, the Justice Department and the Navy created the Elective Option, a fast settlement path with set amounts. It covers nine diseases in two tiers, and the payout depends on how long the claimant was at Camp Lejeune.
| Diagnosis tier | 30 to 364 days | 1 to 5 years | More than 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemias, bladder cancer | $150,000 | $300,000 | $450,000 |
| Tier 2: multiple myeloma, Parkinson's disease, end-stage kidney disease, systemic sclerosis | $100,000 | $250,000 | $400,000 |
Claims involving death get an extra $100,000, so the most a claimant can receive is $550,000. Illnesses outside these nine are not eligible. Source: the Justice Department's announcement.
The Elective Option trades upside for speed and certainty. The lawsuit path can pay more, but it is slower, and the government is contesting experts, causation and how much prior government benefits reduce an award. As of mid-2026, few Elective Option claims had reached final approval.
Which path fits depends on each client's diagnosis, time on base, age and records. That decision belongs to the client and their lawyer.
The rush to sign claimants before the 2024 deadline produced many files that could not prove themselves. Some firms are now spending years chasing records they should have collected on day one. Volume without quality isn't a lead business. It's a noise business.
The lesson carries to every open tort. Collect the proof at intake: the injury, the diagnosis date, the exposure or product use, and the records behind each one. That is the standard we hold our mass tort campaigns to.
Can new Camp Lejeune claims still be filed?
No. The two-year filing window closed in August 2024. A bill in Congress would change parts of the law, but no extension has passed.
Are Camp Lejeune cases tried to a jury?
No. The court ruled the Camp Lejeune Justice Act does not provide a jury trial, so federal judges in the Eastern District of North Carolina decide the cases.
How much has the government paid so far?
More than $879 million in settlement payments and more than $1.1 billion in offers as of September 18, 2026, according to Justice Department figures.
How much does the Elective Option pay?
$100,000 to $450,000 depending on the disease tier and time on base, plus $100,000 where the claimant died, for a maximum of $550,000.
Which illnesses are in Track 1?
Bladder cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Parkinson's disease.
What chemicals were in the water?
Mainly PCE at Tarawa Terrace and TCE at Hadnot Point, along with benzene, vinyl chloride and trans-1,2-DCE.
Who qualifies as a Camp Lejeune claimant?
Anyone exposed to the base water for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987, including veterans, family members, civilian workers and people exposed before birth, who filed before the August 2024 deadline.
Was there a global settlement by October 30, 2026?
No agreement was confirmed publicly by that date, and talks were continuing in November 2026.
Fadi Agour, J.D., is the founder and CEO of FadiLaw Marketing LLC, the Houston-based parent company of Best Case Leads, Real Performance Marketing, Masstortsco, and Redostar. His companies have made the Inc. 5000 list seven years in a row.
This article is general information about pending litigation, not legal advice. Best Case Leads is not a law firm.
Camp Lejeune is a Marine Corps base located just outside Jacksonville, North Carolina. It was a known dumping ground for toxic chemicals such as the industrial degreasers perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) which polluted the groundwater.
Anyone who ingested or used the local drinking water was exposed to these chemicals from 1953 to 1987. This exposure led to multiple injuries including cancers, miscarriages, and childhood Leukemia. It is estimated there are at least one million victims who resided at Camp Lejeune during the 30 year period now spread across the country. At the same time, the government knew about the contamination but covered it up until the ATSDR reported on the chemicals found in the water supply in 1997.
Servicemembers exposed to the toxic chemicals banded together and sought justice for the injuries they sustained and the family members they lost. They gathered stories, documented the numerous deaths, and compiled timelines throughout the decades exposing the truth of Camp Lejeune to the greater population. Their efforts led to the Camp Lejeune Justice Act being signed into law on August 10 2022.
There are numerous injuries associated with the Camp Lejeune water contamination with more possibly on the way.
Victims are eligible for legal compensation if they can prove they spent at least 30 days at Camp Lejeune between January 1 1953 and December 31 1987.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act was signed into law on August 10, 2022. Victims can now file for damages against the US government 35 years after the contamination ended.
Many pending defective 3M earplug lawsuits filed by U.S. Military veterans have been moved to a multi-district litigation (MDL) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, despite some cases originally requesting to be moved to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, the home state of 3M Company’s headquarters. The transferred lawsuits involve 3M’s Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs that were used by U.S. troops from 2003-2015. These qualified cases will be seen by the Honorable Federal Judge Casey Rodgers, who is a U.S. veteran and well qualified to preside over a large products liability multi-district litigation. On July 27, 2020, Judge Rodgers denied 3M’s claim for using government contractors’ defense, in which protects companies from liability for defective products designed and produced for the federal government.
The industrial degreasers PCE and TCE are dumped at Camp Lejeune by a local dry cleaning business. They slowly seep into the ground and contaminate the drinking water.
A cemetery is established for the rising number of infant and child deaths. The plot of land is nicknamed “Baby Heaven.”
Two wells known for containing PCE and TCE are shut down, beginning cleanup efforts.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) drafts an assessment recommending more research on preterm births and fetal deaths at Camp Lejeune. Navy officials push back and attempt to stall their efforts.
The ATSDR reports on the toxic chemicals they found at Camp Lejeune and the injuries exposure could cause. The story is reported nationwide.
Marines testify on Capitol Hill about the contamination talking about their families, their injuries, and their betrayal by the US Marine Corps.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act 2022 is signed into law under the Honoring Our PACT Act allowing veterans and their families to file for damages against the US government.
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