WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bell Legal Group is pleased to announce that founder and senior partner J. Edward Bell III will attend today’s ceremony at the White House celebrating President Biden signing into law the Honoring Our PACT Act. The bill includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (bill number H.R. 2192), legislation that Bell personally championed to allow those impacted - including veterans, their families and civilian staff - from living and working at Camp Lejeune to exercise their constitutional right to legal action against the U.S. government. Due to his leadership role, Bell was invited by President Biden to attend the signing of the historic legislation.
For more than a decade, Bell Legal Group, led by Ed Bell, worked with Camp Lejeune victims, including Master Sergeant J.M. Ensminger, USMC, Ret., the leading advocate for the cause, and Michael Partain, co-founder of The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten, as well as elected officials including Congressman Cartwright (D-PA), Congressman Murphy (R-NC), Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) and Senator Peters (D-MI) to bring this legislation into law. Once signed by President Biden, it provides for the first time the opportunity for victims to seek justice for the unlawful exposure to contaminated water while on the military base.
From 1953 to 1987, water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina contained volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including known carcinogens at up to 280 times the standard safety level. Four core chemicals and 70 secondary chemicals were identified in the water including: trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride (VC), and benzene. Exposure to these toxins through drinking, cooking, cleaning and bathing water caused a variety of health complications, including a variety of cancer diagnoses, Parkinson’s disease, stillbirths, infertility, miscarriages and more.
Due to an obscure North Carolina law that implements a strict 10-year statute of repose, thousands of impacted individuals were previously legally prohibited to file claims. North Carolina is the only state where such a statute exists and, despite recent amending for future cases, it does not apply retroactively and subsequently does nothing for Camp Lejeune victims seeking to file a claim outside the 10-year window.
Thanks to Bell’s leadership and the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, anyone who lived or worked at the base between 1952 and 1987 for at least 30 days and who was exposed to its contaminated water is able to file a claim against the U.S. government. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act prohibits the U.S. government from asserting specific immunity from litigation in response to any potential lawsuit.
For more information, please visit: https://www.belllegalgroup.com/.
About Bell Legal Group
Since our founding in 1983, Bell Legal Group has earned a reputation for getting results where others could not. Bell Legal Group is dedicated to helping people get through some of the most complex, difficult life tragedies they will experience. Our proven team is experienced and highly skilled. We are invested in finding the facts of each case and operate our own state-of-the-art Science & Research Lab dedicated to accurately recreating accidents or crime scenes. Our injury attorneys work hard to provide a high standard of legal services and our staff dedicates time and energy to respond to the individual needs of each and every client. We represent clients who have suffered serious personal injuries all across South Carolina and throughout the country. For more information, please visit: https://www.belllegalgroup.com/.
