Eligible victims have the same requirements as those seeking disability from the VA. Possible financial compensation includes lost wages, medical costs, pain and suffering, and wrongful death. Those already receiving Camp Lejeune disability benefits can still file a claim under the CLJA, but any awards from these claims will be offset by their current benefits provided by the VA, Medicare/Medicaid, or Social Security.

Two major types of errors were discovered in the Camp Lejeune disability claims process. Errors involving about 2,300 claims were made by staffers who assigned an incorrect effective date for benefit entitlement. Overall, the report said, veterans were underpaid at least $13.8 million in benefits for granted claims because VA regional office staff did not assign the earliest effective date permitted by federal regulation.

To others, Camp Lejeune represents a place that did not adequately protect young families. A 2003 federal study concluded that the rate of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly (a condition in which part of the brain or skull is missing), was 265 times higher in babies connected with Camp Lejeune than the national average.