A veteran's mass tort eligibility comes down to one thing: where and when they served. Camp Lejeune water contamination claims, PACT Act toxic-exposure benefits, Agent Orange presumptive conditions, Combat Arms earplug payouts, and the ongoing AFFF firefighting-foam litigation each track a specific service era and location, so the demographic groups they cover don't overlap evenly. This guide sorts veterans by service period and exposure type so a reader can identify which claim category actually applies to them, what evidence it requires, and where the filing windows stand today.
Table of Contents
- Why service dates and locations decide everything
- Vietnam-era and water-contamination veterans
- Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans under the PACT Act
- Veterans exposed to Combat Arms earplugs
- Veterans and firefighters in the AFFF litigation
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why service dates and locations decide everything
Mass tort and VA toxic-exposure claims aren't open to any veteran who believes they were harmed. Each program defines a strict window of service dates and a specific base, country, or equipment list, and a veteran outside that window generally has no claim under that program, regardless of symptoms. Camp Lejeune claims require at least 30 cumulative days of active-duty, reserve, or National Guard service at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River, North Carolina, between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, according to VA.gov's Camp Lejeune Water Contamination page. Vietnam-era veterans qualify for Agent Orange presumptive conditions with documented in-country service between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, plus separate windows for Thailand and Laos, per Rep.
Joe Courtney's PACT Act summary. Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans qualify under a different PACT Act track tied to service in listed Gulf region countries from August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan and other listed nations from September 11, 2001 onward, as detailed by Military.com's PACT Act presumptive conditions list. A veteran can fall into more than one category. Someone who served at Camp Lejeune in the 1970s and later deployed to the Gulf in 1991 may have standing under both the water contamination program and PACT Act presumptive conditions, each evaluated on its own service record.
Vietnam-era and water-contamination veterans
Vietnam-era veterans represent one of the largest groups affected by presumptive-condition expansions. The PACT Act added hypertension and MGUS, a blood condition, to the list of illnesses presumed linked to Agent Orange exposure for anyone with qualifying in-country service, according to Rep. Joe Courtney's office. That presumption means these veterans no longer have to individually prove their condition came from Agent Orange exposure to receive VA disability compensation.
Camp Lejeune claimants sit in a narrower window: active-duty, reserve, or Guard members, plus their family members who lived on base, who spent at least 30 days at the base or MCAS New River between 1953 and 1987. The administrative-claim filing deadline under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act closed on August 10, 2024, two years after the law's enactment, and the Department of the Navy confirms it is no longer accepting new claims, according to a U.S. Navy Press Office release. Claims and lawsuits filed before that deadline continue to move through resolution, so a veteran who already filed is not affected by the closed window, but anyone who never filed can no longer start a new Camp Lejeune claim.
Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans under the PACT Act
Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans make up the demographic the PACT Act was built around. VA reported more than 500,000 toxic-exposure benefit claims filed by veterans and survivors in the law's first year alone, with over $1 billion in benefits awarded on those claims by that one-year mark, according to the VA data cited by The American Legion. More than 3 million veterans went through VA toxic-exposure screenings after the law's August 2022 signing, and about 42% of those screened reported at least one suspected exposure concern, per a VA.gov press release.
The scale of the expansion shows up in approval rates. VA has said toxic-exposure claim denials exceeded 70% before the PACT Act's 2022 presumptive-condition expansions, and a veteran's average combined PACT Act disability rating now sits near 70%, translating to roughly $20,000 in annual compensation, according to VA data cited by VA Claims Insider. For a Gulf War or post-9/11 veteran who was previously denied, the presumptive-condition list removes the burden of proving individual causation for a long roster of respiratory, cancer, and other conditions tied to burn pits and airborne hazards.
Veterans exposed to Combat Arms earplugs
Veterans who used 3M's Combat Arms earplugs during deployment make up a distinct and mostly closed demographic. Roughly 250,000 veterans and service members were eligible for the $6 billion settlement, and more than 99% of them registered claims by the final deadline, according to Military Times.
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Payouts average about $10,000 but vary by injury severity, and the schedule for distributing them runs through 2029. A veteran in this group with hearing loss or tinnitus traced to the earplugs doesn't need to take new action to join the settlement if they already registered; the remaining work is tracking the disbursement schedule rather than filing a new claim.
Veterans and firefighters in the AFFF litigation
A newer and still-developing demographic includes veterans, military and civilian firefighters, and residents near military bases exposed to AFFF firefighting foam. The AFFF multidistrict litigation, case No. 2873 in the U.S.
District Court for the District of South Carolina under Judge Gergel, held more than 15,000 pending personal-injury claims as of mid-2026, according to a Beasley Allen litigation update. Unlike the multibillion-dollar water-utility settlements already reached in related AFFF litigation, no injury settlement fund existed for individual claimants as of September 2026, and the first personal-injury bellwether trial had been postponed with no new date set. This leaves veterans who handled or were exposed to AFFF foam, often firefighters or those stationed near crash sites and training areas, in active litigation rather than an open settlement program. Their claims are proceeding through the MDL's pretrial process rather than a claims-registration window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a veteran still file a new Camp Lejeune water contamination claim?
No. The Department of the Navy confirms the administrative-claim filing window closed August 10, 2024, though claims and lawsuits filed before that date continue to resolve, according to the Navy's press release.
Is there a settlement fund yet for veterans with AFFF-related injuries?
Not as of September 2026. The MDL held over 15,000 pending personal-injury claims with no separate injury settlement fund and a postponed bellwether trial, per Beasley Allen.
Do Vietnam-era veterans need new paperwork to claim Agent Orange presumptive conditions?
Documented in-country service during the qualifying window establishes the presumption automatically for conditions like hypertension and MGUS, removing the need to individually prove causation, according to Rep. Joe Courtney's PACT Act summary.
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