The Department of the Navy has released (and modified) a public guidance document explaining the voluntary settlement framework, called the “Elective Option” or “EO.”
According to the document, claimants can resolve certain Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) claims more quickly and efficiently than in litigation. The document suggests that “litigation might otherwise require resolution of uncertain legal and factual issues through potentially burdensome discovery, motions practice, and bellwether trials.”
But, simply put, the document is potentially at odds with the CLJA as to what is required to prove a claim and to be compensated. Additionally, the document attempts to compensate a very small portion of all claimants at a reduced value compared to what they could recover in trial or by settlement. Claimants must have been at Camp LeJeune for specified periods of time far beyond what the CLJA requires, and it imposes latency periods and limits compensation to one illness only.
These are just a few of the concerns with the EO.
Our goal remains to fight for maximum compensation for our clients and for all service members and their families who are making claims under the CLJA, and for that to happen as quickly as practical. We do not believe the EO is the proper course for the vast majority of CLJA claimants.
If you’re an attorney with a Camp Lejeune case, let us help you and your clients. We can competently and conscientiously assist you in handling any group of cases, no matter how large.
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Rhon JonesToxic Torts Section HeadMontgomery, AL
