One of the law firms representing victims in the Camp Lejeune toxic water litigation said updated information makes the prediction that many cases will be settled by the end of the year more plausible.
According to attorneys with Zois and Miller, after duplicates were identified, the Camp Lejeune Claims Unit has said about 401,000 administrative claims have been filed with the Department of the Navy.
Only about 50,000 claims – or around 12 percent -- are for an illness or injury that falls within the government’s framework. The expectation, the lawyers said, is that these cases will settle first.
It means the overwhelming majority of claimants are claiming injuries that, while perhaps plausibly connected to toxic water exposure, do not align with the government’s threshold for streamlined settlement.
Attorneys said the cases involving harder-to-prove injuries may face significant evidentiary hurdles or prolonged litigation timelines.