Camp Lejeune Justice Act Status: Payouts and 2026 Bellwethers

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act status as of May 2026 is this: the filing window has closed, more than 232,000 administrative claims are in the system, settlement offers exceed $876 million with over $665 million already paid out, and the first bellwether trials in federal court are expected in 2026.¹ The Department of the Navy is no longer accepting new administrative claims. What happens next depends largely on how those trial verdicts land.

The Filing Window Has Closed

The statute of limitations expired on August 10, 2024, two years after the Honoring our PACT Act was signed into law.² If you did not file an administrative claim with the Navy by that date, you cannot start one now.³

One narrow path remains open. The statute allows a lawsuit to be filed by the later of two dates: two years after enactment, or 180 days after the Navy formally denies the underlying administrative claim.⁴ So a claimant who filed on time and received a denial near or after August 10, 2024, still has 180 days from that denial to move the case to federal court. The initial administrative filing deadline itself is fixed and gone.

A bill called the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act of 2025 has been introduced in Congress. As of mid-2026 it has not been enacted, and no legislation has reopened the filing window.

How Much Is Being Paid, and to Whom

The bulk of money moving through the system flows through the Elective Option, a voluntary settlement program the Department of Justice and the Navy created to fast-track claimants with certain diagnosed conditions.⁵ Accepting an Elective Option offer means taking a fixed payout and giving up the right to litigate further.

Payouts turn on two factors: the tier your diagnosed condition falls into, and how long you were at Camp Lejeune during the qualifying exposure period.⁵

Tier 1 conditions, including leukemias: $150,000 for 30 to 364 days of exposure, $300,000 for one to five years, and $450,000 for more than five years.
Tier 2 conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and multiple myeloma: $100,000 for 30 to 364 days, $250,000 for one to five years, and $400,000 for more than five years.
Wrongful death supplement: an additional $100,000 where a qualifying condition caused the claimant’s death.

Claimants who receive an Elective Option offer have 60 days to accept or reject. Payment typically arrives within about 60 days after the paperwork is complete.¹ The financial advantage of this route, beyond speed, is that Elective Option payments are not reduced by VA disability offsets. Court judgments are.⁶

What the 2026 Bellwether Trials Will Decide

All Camp Lejeune lawsuits are filed in one place: the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, which has exclusive jurisdiction and venue.⁷ These are bench trials. A judge decides, not a jury; the court has confirmed the Act does not create a separate right to jury trial.

To handle the volume, the court organized cases into tracks by illness. Track 1 covers five conditions: bladder cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, Parkinson’s disease, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For each Track 1 illness, both sides selected ten plaintiffs into a discovery pool.⁸ Tracks 2 and 3 cover additional illnesses and are being developed in parallel.

Twenty-five Track 1 cases are expected to go to trial in 2026. Before any of them reaches a verdict, both sides are litigating whether expert testimony on causation will be admitted. The DOJ alone has filed more than 30 such motions. The court’s causation rulings will shape the 25 bellwether cases and, through them, the settlement value of every remaining claim. Plaintiff-favorable verdicts with substantial awards would likely push the government to expand settlement efforts. Government wins on causation would drain leverage from many pending claims. As of mid-2026, no bellwether trial has produced a verdict.

What Reduces or Protects Your Payout

VA Benefit Offsets

For court judgments and non-Elective-Option settlements, the award must be reduced by the total amount of VA disability payments and benefits already received for Camp Lejeune-related conditions. A veteran who has drawn $200,000 in cumulative VA disability payments tied to Camp Lejeune exposure would see a court award cut by that same amount. Elective Option settlements are not subject to this offset, which is often the deciding factor between accepting a fixed offer and pushing for a larger court award that would then be reduced. Filing a claim or receiving a settlement does not affect your ongoing VA benefits or health care eligibility.⁹

Attorney Fee Caps

Federal law limits what attorneys can charge on these claims. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2678, fees cannot exceed 20 percent of an administrative settlement or 25 percent of a court judgment or settlement.¹⁰ The DOJ has taken the position that these caps apply to all Camp Lejeune claims.¹ The caps apply to the net amount after VA offsets. Signing a fee agreement with higher percentages does not override them. An attorney charging above the cap faces a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both.

Taxes

Settlements for physical injuries or physical sickness are generally excludable from federal income tax under IRC Section 104(a)(2).¹¹

Medicare and Medicaid Liens

CMS has said it will not pursue Medicare Secondary Payer recovery against Elective Option payments, court judgments, or other settlements for Medicare fee-for-service benefits tied to Camp Lejeune claims.¹³ That protection has real limits. Medicare Advantage plans and state Medicaid agencies decide independently whether to assert liens against settlement proceeds. If you received care through a Medicare Advantage plan or through Medicaid for a Camp Lejeune-related illness, those programs may seek recovery, and resolving any liens is part of finalizing a settlement.

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Division – Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claims
2
Government Publishing Office. Public Law 117-168 – Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022
3
Department of the Navy. Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claims – Help Me Understand Claim Eligibility
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC Ch. 171 – Tort Claims Procedure
5
Department of the Navy. Public Guidance on Elective Option for Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claims
6
Veterans Affairs. Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Health Issues
7
United States District Court Eastern District of North Carolina. Information Concerning Camp Lejeune Water Litigation
8
United States District Court Eastern District of North Carolina. Case Management Order No. 2
9
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Camp Lejeune Water Contamination – Know Your Options
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2678 – Attorney Fees
11
Internal Revenue Service. Settlements – Taxability
13
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Clarification of Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Against Awards Made Under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act