From 1953 to 1987, contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune, a U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina, exposed hundreds of thousands of people to harmful toxins. Two of the base’s eight wells—serving Hadnot Point and Tarawa Terrace—were tainted with chemicals known to cause cancer and other severe illnesses.
These contaminated systems supplied water for everyday activities such as drinking, bathing, and cooking, impacting children at daycare and school, military families in housing, patients in the hospital, and both service members and civilian employees on base.
Civilian Employees and Benefit Coverage
Civilian employees at Camp Lejeune are not eligible for Veterans benefits. Instead, compensation is sought under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) or the Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act (NAFIA).
NAFIA applies to individuals employed by military “exchanges” and other activities funded by nonappropriated funds, such as fast-food workers on base, recreation assistants, custodial staff, clerks, and employees in Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) offices.
NAFIA and Workers’ Compensation
Enacted in 1952, the Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act (NAFIA) extends workers’ compensation protections to these employees. Benefits are administered through the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, but the employee must still establish a causal connection between employment and the illness or injury.
Recognition by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of certain Camp Lejeune-related illnesses may strengthen NAFIA claims, though employees must still meet eligibility requirements.
VA-Recognized Conditions
The VA acknowledges two categories of conditions:
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8 Presumptive Conditions (for VA disability compensation):
Adult leukemia; aplastic anemia & other myelodysplastic syndromes; bladder cancer; kidney cancer; liver cancer; multiple myeloma; non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; Parkinson’s disease. -
15 Covered Conditions (for VA health care, with no copays):
Includes esophageal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, infertility, miscarriage, neurobehavioral effects, and several others.
Anyone who lived or worked in affected areas for 30 days or more between 1953 and 1987 may have been exposed.
Eligibility for Benefits
If you or a loved one held Nonappropriated Fund employment at Camp Lejeune during this period and developed one of the recognized conditions, you may be entitled to medical benefits and/or lost wage benefits. Surviving family members may also qualify for death benefits.
Protecting Your Rights
If you believe you were impacted by toxic water at Camp Lejeune, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen & Frankel, P.A. at 888-732-7425, through our live chat, or by email for a consultation.