Weitz & Luxenberg partner Robin Greenwald has been appointed by the Court as Co-Lead Counsel for the ongoing Camp Lejeune litigation. She is part of a seven-member team overseeing the litigation involving the contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Four judges of the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the appointments on July 19, 2023.
As a Co-Lead Counsel, she will work with other Co-Lead Counsel and the Plaintiffs’ Executive and Steering Committees to bring fair and expeditious justice to the victims of Camp Lejeune. The leadership team is tasked with oversight of discovery, case selection for bellwether trials, settlement discussions, and more. More than 60,000 administrative claims already have been filed with the United States Navy, and over 1,000 complaints have been filed in federal court.
Bringing Justice for Veterans After Decades
“It is an honor to be awarded a position to help the potentially hundreds of thousands of U.S. service personnel and their families stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to recover for their physical injuries caused by contaminated drinking water,” says Ms. Greenwald, who co-chairs W&L’s Environmental Toxic Torts and Consumer Protection Litigation group.
“It has been a long time coming, but, thankfully, the PACT Act gives veterans who served our country the opportunity to right the decades-old wrong done to them. My colleagues and I are anxious to roll up our sleeves and to continue our efforts for the benefit of all injured plaintiffs.”
PACT Allow Vets to File Lawsuits
Last August, President Joe Biden signed the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. This Act gives people harmed by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune a way to make legal claims against the U.S. government.
The Department of Health and Human Services has acknowledged the water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with toxic chemicals from 1953 to 1987. As many as one million people may have been affected.
Unresolved claims are being filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Southern Division. W&L attorneys are suing on behalf of our clients for medical expenses, lost income and their pain and suffering.
Dangerous Chemicals Put Veterans at Risk
Veterans stationed at Camp LeJeune decades ago drank and used contaminated water on a daily basis. Many are now seriously ill. Our government, through the PACT Act, has acknowledged it failed to safeguard their health and to allow their legal claims to proceed in the administrative process and in the federal court.
If the administrative claims are not responded to in a timely fashion by the Department of the Navy, veterans can then file lawsuits against the U.S. in court.
People stationed at Camp Lejeune developed many debilitating illnesses due to the contaminated water, including:
- Leukemia.
- Parkinson’s Disease.
- Bladder, cervical, kidney, and liver cancer.
- Hepatic steatosis.
- Kidney disease and renal toxicity.
- Multiple myeloma.
- Myelodysplastic syndromes and aplastic anemia.
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
- Scleroderma.
- Systematic sclerosis.
If you were stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987 for more than 30 days, you may be eligible to file and join our lawsuits currently in progress. Individuals and families who were not serving in the military, but lived or worked on the Marine Base and got sick, may also be eligible.
Hazardous Camp Lejeune Water Discovered
As far back as 1980, scientists determined two water supply systems for Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., were contaminated with hazardous chemicals.
The water supply systems served unmarried service personnel, as well as families of enlisted Marines. The systems also provided water for schools, offices, and recreational areas. In addition, another system provided water for the base’s hospital and a housing community.
Routine testing identified multiple toxins, including TCE (trichloroethylene), PCE (tetrachloroethylene), vinyl chloride, and benzene.
W&L Leading Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Litigation
As a nationally recognized personal injury law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg has stepped up to handle complex environmental lawsuits for decades.
We have dedicated ourselves to pursuing large-scale litigation on behalf of millions of people — especially veterans — across the country. W&L has the resources, knowledge, and experience to stand up against governmental agencies, as well as multimillion dollar corporations.
Winning Toxic Tort Environmental Cases
Ms. Greenwald is a widely recognized environmental toxic tort and consumer protection attorney. She was inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Before joining W&L, Ms. Greenwald served as Assistant U.S. Attorney and Assistant Chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section.
Since joining W&L in 2005, Ms. Greenwald has led her team to multiple significant legal wins including:
- A multibillion dollar settlement with Monsanto on behalf of nearly 100,000 Americans who developed an aggressive type of cancer, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, after being exposed to the leading weedkiller Roundup.
- An earlier multibillion dollar settlement against British Petroleum on behalf of hundreds of thousands of people who suffered devastating harm when its negligent actions brought about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
- A win of more than $400 million dollars against 50+ petroleum companies for their role in contaminating the country’s groundwater with MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), a gasoline additive.
