Def. Secretary Hagel to Focus On Earlier Onset Date for Camp LeJeune Chemical Exposure

Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has pledged to help Marines find answers about three decades worth of contaminated drinking water at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune. 

http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/washington/2013/02/hagel-pledges-to-help-camp-lejeune-victims.html

Under the new law signed by President Obama last August, for the first time veterans and family members who lived or worked at the base from 1957 - 1987 can receive government-funded hospitalization and medical services for 15 specific ailments linked to contaminated water at the base.

Scientists from the federal government recently announced that they discovered contaminated water at two additional water distribution systems as far back as August 1953, four years earlier than previous findings. A detailed report on the sources of contamination is expected later this year from CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). For more information on ATSDR and the studies at Camp LeJeune, visit: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/index.html

Veterans disability compensation is a full-time practice area at our offices in Greensburg, Pittsburgh and Latrobe.  In 2012, Quatrini Rafferty was able to obtain full service-connection, and a 100% disability percentage, for our client - a Camp LeJeune vet - by working with our clients treating oncologist and hematologist to get medical nexus reports.  For more information about veterans disability legal services at QR, please call us at 888-534-6016 or visit our Veterans Disability Benefits page.

- Quatrini Rafferty Veterans Law Group

Serving veterans in Pennsylvania, and the surrounding states, from our offices in Greensburg, Pittsburgh, and Latrobe

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Camp LeJeune and Veterans Disability

From the 1950s through the 1980s, people living or working at the U.S. Marine Corps base in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, were exposed to drinking water contaminated with industrial solvents, benzene, and other chemicals.

Under a law signed Aug. 6, 2012, Veterans and family members who served on active duty or resided at Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more between Jan. 1, 1957 and Dec. 31, 1987 may be eligible for medical care through VA for 15 health conditions:

•   Esophageal cancer •   Breast cancer •   Kidney cancer •   Multiple myeloma •   Renal toxicity •   Female infertility •   Scleroderma •   Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

•   Lung cancer •   Bladder cancer •   Leukemia •   Myelodysplastic syndromes •   Hepatic steatosis •   Miscarriage •   Neurobehavioral effects

While none of the conditions above qualify for presumptive status, veterans may still pursue direct service connection through a medical nexus letter. 

In 2012, Quatrini Rafferty was able to obtain full service-connection, and a 100% disability percentage, for our client - a Camp LeJeune vet and current Westmoreland County resident - by working with our client's treating oncologist and hematologist to get medical nexus reports.

  


- Veterans Disability Law Group at Quatrini Rafferty

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