Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Lawsuit Filed Over Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

A South Carolina man who lived and worked at the Camp Lejeune military base in North Carolina has filed a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma lawsuit against the U.S. government, alleging that that exposure to contaminated water on the base led to the development of his cancer.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Russell Drayton in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on February 12, pursuing damages under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which just opened the door for claims to be pursued by individuals diagnosed with injuries after drinking, bathing in, cooking with and swimming in water at the Marine Corps base between the 1950s and 1980s.

Drayton’s case is among the first of what is expected to be tens of thousands of Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits that will be filed in the coming weeks and months by former Marines, military family members and civilian contractors who lived or worked on the base for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987.

Although various cancers and other devastating injuries have been directly linked to contaminants in the water, by the time the extent of the Camp Lejeune water contamination problems were known to veterans and family members living on the base, the ten-year North Carolina statute of limitations previously allowed the U.S. government to routinely deny all claims presented over it’s role in failing to provide safe water at the base for decades.

On August 10, 2022, President Biden signed landmark new legislation, which corrected the federal governments failure to compensate veterans and military family members, opening a two year window for lawsuits to be filed to be filed over the water contamination at Camp Lejeune, after notice of the potential claim is presented to the U.S. Department of Navy and the government fails to settle the claim within 180 days.

Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune Caused Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Diagnosis

Drayton indicates that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma from the Camp Lejeune water, which is a type of cancer that forms in the lymphatic system.

Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is caused by changes or mutations in the DNA, and it is known that exposure to various different types of chemicals can greatly increase the risk of developing the cancer.

According to the lawsuit, Drayton was exposed to various different cancers in the Camp Lejeune water known to cause Non-Hodgkins lymphoma during his time at the base.

“The water supplied to Plaintiff by or on behalf of Defendant was polluted and contaminated… with chemicals including but not limited to TCE, PCE, vinyl chloride and benzene,” the lawsuit states. “Subsequently, Plaintiff accrued multiple serious life-threatening illnesses, including Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, on a date before the enactment of the Act.”

Lawsuits Over Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

In addition to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, chemicals in the Camp Lejeune water have been linked to the development of various other types of cancer, as well as Parkinson’s disease, kidney damage, fertility problems, birth defects and other injuries.

Although the U.S. government has acknowledged that toxic chemicals contaminated the water at Camp Lejeune for decades, the new law still places the burden of proof on individual plaintiffs to produce evidence showing that there it is at least as likely as not that a relationship exists between exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune and the injury suffered.

Since the new law went into effect about six months ago, tens of thousands of former service members, family members and civilian employees who worked at Camp Lejeune have provided notice to the U.S. government that they intend to file a Camp Lejeune lawsuit.

In the coming weeks and months, it is expected that a surge of Camp Lejeune lawsuits over various cancers and other injuries will be brought in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, which has been granted exclusive jurisdiction over the claims.