The PACT Act’s goal is to deliver more timely benefits and services to more than 5 million veterans—across all generations—who may have been impacted by toxic exposures while serving our country. The Act permits military members and their families to seek compensation for injuries suffered because of the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The proposed law grants injured parties an exception to the normal federal government immunity which protects it from lawsuits.

The Act also carves out an exception to North Carolina’s statute of repose, which would otherwise bar any claim for injuries which occurred more than ten years prior to the filing of a claim, regardless of when the claimant first became aware of their injury or the connection between the injury and the negligence/misconduct which caused it.

Under the new law, those who were injured by the drinking water, even if the injuries were suffered during pregnancy, at Camp Lejeune can file a claim for damages against the U.S. government in the Eastern District of North Carolina without the typical concerns of federal government immunity from such suits or North Carolina’s statute of repose.

Claimants must establish a connection between their injuries and their exposure to toxic water at the Camp. Typically, such a connection would be proven by a medical expert whose opinion is that the claimed injury was more likely than not caused by exposure to the contaminated water.

The Camp Lejeune Act also permits the representative(s) of a deceased person who was exposed to the contaminated water to bring a case on behalf of their loved one. In such an instance, there is no requirement that the injured person’s death was caused by their Camp Lejeune toxic water exposure. Such a person’s heirs could still pursue a claim for the injuries their loved one suffered while alive.

Under the new law, any amount awarded to a plaintiff would be offset by disability payments the individual is receiving through the secretary of Veterans Affairs, Medicare or Medicaid.