PARKER WAICHMAN LLP CELEBRATES PASSAGE OF THE CAMP LEJEUNE JUSTICE ACT OF 2022, CONTINUING ITS FIGHT FOR CAMP LEJEUNE VICTIMS, WAGED IN COURTS AND CONGRESS SINCE 2009

The Honoring Our Pact Act, S. 3373,

Passed by the United States Senate, August 2, 2022.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 2, 2022, the United States Senate voted 86-11 in favor of the Honoring our PACT Act, a bill that significantly expands benefits and health care resources for toxic-exposed veterans. It incorporates, in full, the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, which provides former Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune residents – military and their families as well as civilian workers – the right to seek justice from the U.S. government for damages related to toxic water exposure at Camp Lejeune.

United States Congressman Matt Cartwright, author of the original Camp Lejeune Justice Act in 2013, celebrated the bill's success: "It's going to be wonderful because it's a victory for justice in the United States. I owe Jerry Parker a great debt of gratitude for introducing me to this problem, and I'm happy that he's going to have a hand in bringing these cases to justice."  See https://www.yourlawyer.com/camp-lejeune-water-contamination-lawyers.

Jerry Parker, the founding partner of Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm, brought the case to national attention when he filed a lawsuit in 2009 on behalf of a school teacher who worked at  Camp Lejeune Elementary School for 22 years. That lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court, District of Georgia, alleged that the plaintiff was exposed to toxic substances in the water supply at Camp Lejeune and that she developed cancer as a result of the United States' actions.

The Government moved to dismiss the case, and the District Court granted that motion, holding that North Carolina's ten-year statute of repose applied and the Feres doctrine barred claims against the Marines. Parker Waichman took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where, unfortunately, justice was denied.

While fighting for his clients in court, Jerry Parker was also working on creating legislation to right this wrong: "After having my case thrown out by the United States District Court, I didn't wait for the decision from the federal circuit court or the United States Supreme Court.  I saw the handwriting on the wall and knew that my clients would not get justice in the court system without a change in the law."

Congressman Cartwright immediately recognized a "horrendous situation and a national disgrace" and vowed to help change the law. After multiple sessions of Congress considered versions of the bill, a measure finally gained traction in 2022. With the passage of the Honoring our PACT Act, Camp Lejeune veterans, their families, and civilian base workers – anyone who spent 30 days at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 –  are now finally eligible to file a claim for injuries caused by exposure to toxic water at the base.

As Representative Cartwright recently explained, passing the Camp Lejeune Justice Act is "just the start. I mean, it's the end of my work, but it's just the start for all of the families and all of the legal teams that have to get put together, and folks like Jerry Parker and Parker Waichman, they're at the point now where they really have to roll up their sleeves and take these cases in front of the court and win them," which is precisely the job that Jerry Parker and Parker Waichman are doing right now.

Filing a Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit

Parker Waichman has represented clients in injury lawsuits for decades and Camp Lejeune victims since 2009. If you, or someone you know, lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987, and want to file a lawsuit, please call 1-800-YOUR LAWYER or visit the firm's website at https://www.yourlawyer.com.

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SOURCE Parker Waichman LLP