KDSN RADIO News
Crawford County Veterans Affairs helping locals with Camp Lejeune, PACT Act
Crawford County Veterans Affairs Director Louise Galbraith says her office is training to help locals understand the Camp Lejuine Justice Act.
“How they can access this legislation that basically allows them to sue the government if they have one of the disabilities on the list. It’s a whole new arena and we’re doing weekly online briefings about it because the VA hasn’t even figured it all out yet,” said Galbraith.
Contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejuine in North Carolina exposed service members to chemicals that can cause several kinds of cancer, birth defects, and more for decades. Galbraith says the VA did recommend being cautious of lawyers you might see on TV.
“They’re going to gouge the veterans for a lot of money. We have some attorneys that we work with routinely. The court of veterans appeals is going to be compiling a list of reputable law firms that will be working with Camp Lejeune that will not gouge the veterans for a lot of money,” said Galbraith.
She says the PACT Act is another recent item expanding healthcare for those exposed to toxins during their military service as far back as Vietnam.
“I filed more claims in the last month and a half than I did all of last year. So we’ve been rocking and rolling in our office. I love it. It’s been amazing and I think we’ve just scratched the surface of that,” said Galbraith.
Galbraith says these are pivotal parts of this year in veterans services.
