Trial attorneys rake in millions of dollars from Camp Lejeune portion of PACT Act: Report

Cancer. Infertility. Neurological diseases. These are just a few of the impacts tens of thousands of Veterans in this country have dealt with as a result of toxic exposure, from their time serving in the military.

Two years ago, a law to help them seek financial damages, was passed in Congress and was signed into law by President Biden.

But it turns out they are not the only group the law is benefitting, according to from the Government Accountability Institute, which found trial attorneys are raking in millions of dollars. You've probably seen of their many

There was also the contentious fight on Capitol Hill, over passing that eventually gave veterans the right to be compensated if they were exposed to toxic chemicals while serving the country in Afghanistan, Iraq and U.S. military bases, like Camp Lejeune.

In August of 2022, the passed on with a portion focused on those who served at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987, when the water contained toxic harmful chemicals

The initial bill included a provision to cap attorney fees between 20 and 25%, which was later removed.

"I have no problem with lawyers getting paid for services that they are performing but in some cases, they're taking 60%, which means that veterans are getting half of the money that was actually intended to them," said Peter Schweizer, President of the Government Accountability Institute.

He says the other big losers are U.S. taxpayers.

The Congressional Budget Office the Camp Lejeune portion of the PACT Act to cost about $6. 1 billion between 2022-2031

But the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board "the Navy expects 100,000 cases to be filed within the law's two-year window and the total cost could be hundreds of billions of dollars."

Schweizer said a good chunk has already gone straight into the pockets of trial attorneys.

They've argued that sometimes higher contingency fees are necessary because of all the necessary legal work in the courtroom that's done by attorneys 246 but in this particular case it's a settlement. There is no courtroom work that really needs to be done."

To fix this, the Department of Justice could intervene. Congress could also pass a new bill capping those attorney fees. Finally, veterans filing claims should always read the fine print and make sure their attorneys are not charging more than 25%.