If you served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, and you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the VA presumes your illness is connected to the contaminated water and pays disability benefits on that basis with no filing deadline. The other route, a lawsuit under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, is closed to new claimants: the administrative filing window ended on August 10, 2024, and the Department of the Navy has no authority to accept late claims.1Department of the Navy. Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claims For most people searching this topic now, the VA claim is the live pathway.
Why Parkinson’s Is Tied to Camp Lejeune
Two of the base’s drinking water systems supplied water contaminated with industrial solvents from August 1953 through December 1987. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry identified the primary contaminants as trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride, and benzene. TCE at Hadnot Point reached 280 times the current federal safety limit.2Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Chemicals Involved – Camp Lejeune
TCE is the contaminant most directly linked to Parkinson’s. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and destroys the dopamine-producing neurons whose loss defines the disease. A study comparing Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1975 and 1985 to those at Camp Pendleton, where the water was clean, found Parkinson’s risk 70 percent higher among the Camp Lejeune group.3Neurology. Ambient Trichloroethylene Exposure and Parkinson Disease Risk An ATSDR mortality study of civilian employees found higher Parkinson’s death rates at Camp Lejeune than at Pendleton, concentrated among workers with the highest cumulative exposures.4Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Mortality Study of Civilian Employees – Camp Lejeune
One detail matters for anyone diagnosed decades after service: Parkinson’s symptoms can appear 10 to 40 years after TCE exposure.3Neurology. Ambient Trichloroethylene Exposure and Parkinson Disease Risk Someone who left Camp Lejeune in 1975 could develop tremors in 2010 or later. That long latency is why new diagnoses are still emerging and why the VA route has no cutoff attached to it.
Filing a VA Disability Claim for Parkinson’s
Parkinson’s disease is one of eight presumptive conditions the VA recognizes for Camp Lejeune water exposure. Presumptive status means you do not have to independently prove the water caused your illness. If you served at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 days during the qualifying period and you have a Parkinson’s diagnosis, the connection is presumed.5Veterans Affairs. Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Health Issues
There is no announced deadline for filing. You can apply online, by mail, or in person. Your application should identify the claim as a Camp Lejeune presumptive condition and include military records showing your presence at the base during the qualifying window along with medical records confirming the diagnosis. The VA also confirms that filing a CLJA claim, past or present, does not affect eligibility for VA disability or health care benefits.5Veterans Affairs. Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Health Issues
If your service records are incomplete, the VA can request them from the National Archives on your behalf when you file.6Veterans Affairs. Request Your Military Service Records
Healthcare for Family Members Who Lived on Base
The VA’s Camp Lejeune Family Member Program reimburses healthcare costs for non-veteran family members who lived on the base during the contamination period. You qualify if you were the spouse, child, or other dependent of a service member who served at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1953 and December 1987, and you lived on the base for at least 30 days during that same window. The program covers care for conditions linked to the contaminated water, including Parkinson’s.
Applications require documentation of the relationship to the veteran (marriage certificate for spouses, birth certificate for children) and proof of residency at the base. Family members can apply through the VA’s online portal or by mailing VA Form 10-10068. This program is separate from VA disability compensation and from the CLJA: it reimburses medical costs rather than paying a monthly benefit or a lump sum.
If You Already Filed a CLJA Claim Before the Deadline
Claims filed with the Department of the Navy before August 10, 2024, are still being worked. As of March 2026, more than 3,700 lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, which holds exclusive jurisdiction over CLJA cases.7United States District Court Eastern District of North Carolina. Information Concerning Camp Lejeune Water Litigation The Department of Justice has approved more than 2,500 settlement offers through its Elective Option, with total payouts exceeding $700 million.8Department of Justice. The Department of Justice Approves Historic Number of Settlements for Camp Lejeune Victims and Families
Elective Option Amounts for Parkinson’s
The DOJ’s Elective Option classifies Parkinson’s disease as a Tier 2 injury. Settlement amounts depend on cumulative exposure:9Department of the Navy. Public Guidance on Elective Option for Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claims
- 30 to 364 days of exposure: $100,000
- 1 year to 5 years of exposure: $250,000
- More than 5 years of exposure: $400,000
An additional $100,000 is added at each tier if the claimant died from Parkinson’s disease. Accepting the Elective Option is voluntary. Claimants who reject the offer can pursue a lawsuit in federal court, but recovery through litigation is not guaranteed; the CLJA does not presume causation, and the claimant must prove the water caused the illness, though a peer-reviewed epidemiological study identifying Camp Lejeune water as a possible cause can satisfy that burden.10Congress.gov. Public Law 117-168 – Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 Given the strength of the TCE research, Parkinson’s claims are on relatively firm ground.
How Settlements Interact With Benefits
The CLJA statute requires that any award or settlement be reduced by disability, Medicare, or Medicaid payments the claimant has already received for the same condition.10Congress.gov. Public Law 117-168 – Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 If you have been collecting VA disability for Parkinson’s tied to your Camp Lejeune service, those payments will be subtracted from a CLJA settlement or judgment.
For claimants who accept the Elective Option specifically, the VA will not assert a lien or offset over EO payments, and CMS has confirmed it will not pursue Medicare fee-for-service recovery against EO payments or against CLJA judgments and settlements. Medicare Advantage plans and state Medicaid agencies decide independently whether to seek recovery.11Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Clarification of Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Against Awards Made Under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act Awards obtained outside the Elective Option may still be subject to those offsets. Receiving a CLJA settlement does not disqualify you from future VA benefits, but the government will not pay twice for the same condition.
Attorney Fee Caps
Federal law limits attorney fees on CLJA cases. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act fee provisions the DOJ applies to these claims, contingency fees cannot exceed 20 percent of an administrative settlement or 25 percent of a judgment or court settlement.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 28 Section 2678 The caps apply to the amount remaining after benefit offsets.13Department of Justice. Camp Lejeune Justice Act Claims Any fee agreement charging more than the statutory caps is unenforceable, so check your contract against these numbers if you signed one during the pre-deadline advertising surge.
Documentation to Gather
The core documents are the same whether you have a CLJA claim in the pipeline or you are filing a VA disability application. Veterans should pull their DD Form 214; if that is the only proof of presence at Camp Lejeune, it must specifically show duty at the base during the qualifying period.14United States Navy. Validation and Settlement Process Other accepted proof includes employment records, school records, court records, letters addressed to you at a Camp Lejeune address, or dated photographs placing you at the base.
Family members need relationship documents: marriage certificate, birth certificate, or other legal record establishing dependent status. Medical records should clearly state the Parkinson’s diagnosis, the date of diagnosis, symptom progression, and treatments prescribed. The stronger the neurology file, the smoother the claim moves.
The Bottom Line
If you were at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987 and you have Parkinson’s, the VA disability route is open now and does not require you to prove causation. If you filed a CLJA administrative claim before August 10, 2024, you have a second track running in parallel, with a tiered Elective Option offer available and offsets that will reduce the final payout by whatever VA, Medicare, or Medicaid has already paid for the same condition. If you missed the CLJA deadline, that door is closed, but the VA claim is not, and the family healthcare program is not either.