A key ruling has been issued in the Camp Lejeune toxic water litigation.
Attorneys with Zois and Miller, one of the firms representing victims who are suing the federal government and the Department of the Navy for damages connected to illnesses cause by toxic water aboard the base, said the federal court has ruled that experts can use established science to explain why contaminated water likely caused a claimant’s illness, but if a report tries to introduce new studies or exposure models that weren’t disclosed before last December, they’ll be excluded.
The lawyers said that keeps expert testimony on track while respecting the phased discovery structure already in place, and it protects the integrity of the court’s deadlines while still letting plaintiffs present the evidence they’ve already vetted.
It also stops the government from cutting off valid testimony and the attorneys said it keeps the door open for trials built on real, tested science.
As many as a million people were exposed to contaminated drinking water at the base between 1953 and 1987, and the Camp Lejeune Justice Act allowed them to seek compensation for illnesses and deaths.
More than 400,000 damage claims have been filed with the Navy and more than 2,800 lawsuits are pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina since a two-year window for litigation opened in 2022.
Attorneys handling the plaintiffs’ cases have said only about 100 settlements have been reached with victims.
Related: "Lejeune baby" advocating for justice for those injured by toxic water aboard Camp Lejeune
A penned by North Carolina Republicans Rep. Greg Murphy and Sen. Thom Tillis would make corrections to the act so plaintiffs could request jury trials, cases could be heard in more federal courts and attorneys’ fees could be capped at 25 percent. It has growing bipartisan support.
