The primary source of contamination was because of on-base storage tank leaks and other industrial activities completed on the base. There was also an off-base dry cleaner spewing chemicals. It’s estimated that these contaminants have been in the water supply from the 1950s through February 1985, as the wells were shut down.

However, contamination could have occurred through 1999, when the military base was closed. People with disabilities may wish to see if they qualify for various programs and resources based on their required treatment.

Choose Ehline Law Firm

After receiving detailed information about the effects of drinking contaminated water, most people require support and training about any illness they get. Families are often broken, and some conditions people face flow down to them.

Ehline Law Firm works with sensitive information and understands why it’s essential to keep that data private. We don’t disclose anything about people with disabilities who work with us. The following topics can help you understand what contamination can do and how it affects military service members and caregivers.

If you were denied benefits and are concerned that your condition or illness comes from the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune, please call us at (833) LETS-SUE to see if you have a case. Our services are here to help!

Information You Should Know

The benefits for veterans and family members stationed at Camp Lejeune include health care for about 15 conditions listed in the Camp Lejeune Families Act in 2012. Veterans may receive health care and disability for eight presumptive conditions, also available to people with disabilities.

Health Care Benefits

Veterans and other family members of those who served at Camp Lejeune for 30 days (non-consecutive or consecutive) between 1953 and 1987 are likely eligible for Priority Group 6 and can access VA healthcare.

Eligibility Timeframe

National Guard veterans, family members, and reserve members who lived on the Camp Lejeune base for 30 days or more between 1953 and 1987 are eligible.

Areas Included

The areas included in this benefit consist of the Marine Corps Air Station New River and Camp Lejeune boundaries. We can help you determine if you were at the location during that time and get compensation in the form of money to help you deal with your current conditions.

The Historic Drinking Water Database for Camp Lejeune

The Marine Corps must maintain a database of information for anyone who could have been exposed to drinking water contaminants at Camp Lejeune between the dates of August 1, 1953, through December 31, 1987.

How to Get Added to the Notification Database

You may visit this website to get added to the notification database or to learn more information. We want to provide as many resources as possible to service members and their families.

Likewise, the Marine Corps works diligently to identify registrants and communicate with them by email updates and mailing information. Consider sharing this information with other Marine Corps who might have been located here between those dates and ask them to participate.

Should You Get Notified of Changes to the Historic Drinking Water Database?

Those in the Marine Corps and other branches need to seek appropriate resources and health services. Veterans have rights to disability benefits and treatment through different programs. In this situation, many families suffer, and some conditions might move to the children. Therefore, multiple people could qualify for this program and others.

You can stay updated about changes to this database through the VA department. It’s your only hope of getting resources about services available in your area.

Health Care for the Veterans and Their Family Members

The Camp Lejeune Act in 2012 provided health care assistance to veterans and their family members who were Marine Corps or other personnel and lived on the base. However, they must meet the service date requirement, time-on-station, and have a covered condition. These include:

Qualifying Health Conditions

• Scleroderma
• Renal Toxicity
• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Neurobehavioral Effects
• Myelodysplastic Syndromes
• Multiple Myeloma
• Miscarriage
• Lung Cancer
• Leukemia
• Kidney Cancer
• Hepatic Steatosis
• Female Infertility
• Esophageal Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Bladder Cancer.

People with disabilities unrelated to Camp Lejeune can still be part of the Camp Lejeune Act and are eligible for health care, whether in the Marine Corps or other branches. They’re not required to pay anything if they’ve got the 15 covered conditions or eight disability conditions.

Reimbursement for Family Member Health Care

A dependent family member of a veteran who lived at Camp Lejeune during the period is eligible for out-of-pocket medical reimbursement if they have any of the covered conditions. Refunds for such claims could be paid for care at least one year or up to two years before the application date of benefits.

Applying for Reimbursement

Veterans, family members, or caregivers of a person at the Camp can apply online for reimbursement and might have to submit claim evidence. This includes:

• Legal dependent relationship to the veteran, such as a birth certificate or marriage license
• Documentation indicating you lived on that base for 30+ days during the time period
• Documentation of medical records showing that you had to pay healthcare expenses for the covered illness or condition.

Veterans’ Disability Compensation

Unlike Medicare, or Medicaid, along with everything else, the Department of Veterans Affairs has set up a presumption connection for eight conditions associated with exposure to contaminants found in Camp Lejeune’s water supply. They were determined after much review of medical and scientific literature.

Overall, the presumption applies to reserve, active duty, Marine Corps, and National Guard members who were exposed to the contaminants within the water supply between 1953 and 1987 and included these conditions:

• Parkinson’s Disease
• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Bladder Cancer
• Liver Cancer
• Aplastic Anemia (or Other Myelodysplastic Syndromes)
• Kidney Cancer
• Adult Leukemia
• Multiple Myeloma.

The VA offers local resources for these newly discovered conditions because medical evidence supports the connection between Camp Lejeune and your service-related, created the injury.

If you’re diagnosed with one of those conditions, the VA automatically assumes that your services at the Camp were responsible, so you can receive disability benefits without proving your case. If you have problems, we may be able to offer more tips during your free consultation.

Evidence Requirements

Veterans must still submit documentation that they served at the MCAS New River or Camp Lejeune between those dates and spent 30 days or more in reserve, active duty, or a National Guard capacity.

Medical evidence should show that you’ve got a current disease from the presumptive conditions list because you served your country.

How to Apply for Your Disability Benefits

Marine Corps and other service members may apply online and include on the application that they’re filing for a presumed Camp Lejeune illness. Though people can do it alone, it’s often best to work with an attorney who understands the laws regarding military personnel. Ehline Law Firm can assist!

Is Social Security Disability Insurance the Same As Veteran’s Disability Benefits?

The United States government provides Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income for those with disabilities. They could be veterans, but that’s not a requirement.

Veteran’s disability benefits are not the same and are only offered to those who served their country. They might be entitled to VA, Social Security, and Supplemental Security Income.

Should You Call the Local Social Security Office?

Those who want to see if they’re eligible for Social Security in one or more forms should contact the Social Security Administration for more resources. There are various programs available.

Is Health Coverage Included for Reimbursement?

Those with health insurance through private companies can be reimbursed for their medical expenses if they meet the criteria listed above. However, Social Security works differently.

A veteran might have trouble dealing with the government to claim their benefits, and Ehline Law Firm can assist during this crisis. We explore the many programs and services available, help you appeal denials you feel are incorrect, and much more.

How Can Ehline Law Firm Help?

No one wants to feel like they were tricked, and that’s what military service members believe after being stationed at Camp Lejeune. The government has set up different program options to help you or your family member make claims to money set aside for you, whether you were in the Marine Corps or another branch.

Often, this is on top of your regular VA benefits, but things get highly complicated for a single person moving through the system. Therefore, it’s best to call Ehline Law Firm for assistance and support.

I’m Michael Ehline, and I’m an inactive U.S. Marine. My father joined the service before me and had health issues because he was stationed. Now, I focus on helping other Marines understand the programs and services available through the government. As a veteran myself, it angers me when people are negligent. They should pay restitution, and I make sure that happens. My firm will advance costs and fight hard to final victory, Semper Fi, do or die.