The government is reaching out to Marine Corps and Navy veterans and their families who became sick because of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The Navy and Department of Justice have begun the process of offering them a voluntary “elective option” that would resolve their claims under terms of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act that was passed by Congress last year.

Under the option, those who filed claims and lawsuits due to harm caused by the exposure to contaminated water between 1953 and 1987 could potentially “recover for injuries,” the Navy stated. The option would allow for resolution “quickly, equitably, and transparently” of the more than 93,000 pending claims, according to the Navy.

Claimants would be able to focus on the type of injury they sustained, and the duration of time they spent working or living at Lejeune.\

“The elective option is a critical step in bringing relief to qualifying claimants impacted by the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, who will now have an avenue for receiving quick and early resolution of claims,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.

“We are committed to ensuring that every valid Camp Lejeune claim is resolved fairly and expeditiously as possible,” said Undersecretary of the Navy Erik Raven.

Here are the two levels of diagnoses:

• Tier 1: Claimants with diseases the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) recognizes as related to exposure to the toxic water. Included are kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and bladder cancer. These victims could get settlement offers of $450,000, $300,000 or $150,000, depending upon whether they were exposed to the poison water for more than five years, between one and five years, and between 30 and 364 days respectively.

• Tier 2: Claimants with ATSDR-recognized diseases related to the exposure. Included are multiple myeloma, Parkinson’s disease, kidney disease (end renal stage disease), systemic sclerosis/systemic scleroderma.

Compensation would be $400,000 for those exposed to the Lejeune water for more than five years, $250,000 for exposure between one and five years, and $100,000 for any exposure between 30 and 364 days.

• Claims that involve deaths would receive an additional $100,000.

• Any and all payments available through the elective option will not be offset by any VA disability benefits. Nor will they interfere or supersede any health care received through the VA system.

The elective option would supplement other avenues of resolution now available through normal administrative claims and litigation processes. More information is available online at www.navy.mil/clja.