Hearings continue as the fight for compensation for victims of decades of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune slowly plods forward.
Lawyers with the law firm Zois and Miller, which represents some of the victims, said the docket now includes 3,637 filed cases in the Eastern District of North Carolina. That is an increase of only 37 new lawsuits in recent weeks, and the attorneys said that suggests the pace of new filings is beginning to stabilize. They added that progress is being made, but it remains slow.
One of the main reasons for that is the volume of motions coming from the Department of Justice. In the most recent round alone, the government filed more than 30 motions, mostly targeting expert testimony or seeking to end cases before trial through summary judgment. The firm said the government is trying to shape the boundaries of the science before any jury hears a case.
Related coverage: Camp Lejeune Justice Act Series
Attorneys with Bell Legal Group, which also represents plaintiffs, said one motion attacks the connection to Parkinson's disease and the toxic water found at Camp Lejeune. Another filing attempts to keep the plaintiff's Parkinson’s disease experts from testifying in the case. Two others assert there is no basis for the kidney cancer in connection with the contaminated drinking water aboard the base.
The legal experts said the challenges to causation, questioning exposure models, and seeking ways to limit what reaches the court is a common strategy in large-scale litigation.
