MENU News

• All News
• Blogs
• Photo Galleries
• Podcasts
• Press Releases
• Speeches
• Videos

Archived Press Releases

Archived News

Press Release

The Department of Justice Approves Historic Number of Settlements to Camp Lejeune Victims and Families

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Share For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs Today, the Department of Justice Civil Division announced the approval of 649 Elective Option (EO) offers in the past three weeks, totaling $175 million, under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.

Since Jan. 20, 2025, the Department of Justice has paid more than $421 million in EO settlements to compensate service members who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. This brings the total approved settlement offers since the 2023 announcement of the EO to 2,531, totaling more than a half billion dollars (approximately $708 million).

“At the direction of the President and Attorney General, this Department of Justice has reprioritized approving settlements for Camp Lejeune victims and families, many of whom sadly had to wait years for justice,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “I am proud of the work we have done in the past year to speed up the compensation approval process and we will continue to approve settlements on a weekly basis.”

The “Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022” or the “Honoring our PACT Act of 2022” (“PACT Act), Public Law 117–168, was signed into law on Aug. 10, 2022.  Section 804 of the PACT Act, the “Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022,” aims to compensate service members and others who were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, between 1953 and 1987 and developed cancer or another disease that was at least “as likely as not” caused by the exposure.  During the relevant time period, two of the eight Camp Lejeune water supply systems were contaminated, and one other intermittently received contaminated water during water shortages. The estimated face value of claims submitted to the Department of the Navy exceeds $335 trillion.

In 2023, the Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Department of the Navy, implemented an EO program. The EO serves as an off-ramp to litigation, creating a faster and easier way for those with qualifying illnesses to settle their claims and avoid the cost and time-consuming nature of litigation. Payments to an individual claimant under the EO range from $100,000 to $550,000 and are available to qualified claimants regardless of whether they were present in a part of the base that received contaminated water.

Updated March 10, 2026 Component Civil Division Press Release Number: 26-231

Related Content

Press Release U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Employee Agrees to Pay $500,000 to Resolve Conflict-of-Interest Allegations Daxin Wu, a Patent Examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations that she violated conflict-of-interest rules during the course of...

February 25, 2026

Press Release Justice Department Files Case to Revoke U.S. Citizenship of Immigration Fraudster and Former Mayor of North Miami Today, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida announced that it has filed a civil denaturalization complaint in the U.S. District Court...

February 17, 2026

Press Release Justice Department Files Action to Protect National Security by Enforcing President’s Order of Chinese Company’s Divestment from U.S. Company Today, the United States filed a complaint under section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 to enforce a presidential order prohibiting Suirui Group’s acquisition, through Suirui International, of...

February 10, 2026