A military widow wanted to sue the government because she claims her husband’s demise was caused by exposure to toxic and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base. However, the Supreme Court declined to hear her case on Monday.

According to Carol Clendening, Gary, a Marine Officer in the Judge Advocate Division, passed away because the government failed to safeguard him from exposure and neglected to alert him to it after his discharge.

According to a lawyer for Clendening, Gary Clendening had no clue that the water provided to him for drinking, cooking, and bathing at Camp Lejeune was tainted with harmful chemicals or that he was routinely exposed to radioactive waste. He received an adult leukaemia diagnosis in 2007 and passed away in November 2016.

Clendening’s attorney contended that the government has now acknowledged through the Department of Veterans Affairs that his exposure led to his cancer and other diseases.

Lower courts, however, ruled that the claim was barred by the so-called Feres doctrine, which states that US citizens cannot be held liable for military personnel’s injuries experienced while on active service under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, which President Joe Biden signed into law, allows certain veterans and their legal representatives to file a lawsuit in federal court in North Carolina for relief specifically directed at harm brought on by exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune, the Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar informed the justices in court documents. This occurred after Clendening’s petition was filed.

She declared that “no further review is necessary.”

The court’s choice to take the case on divided Justice Clarence Thomas. He has already expressed grave concerns regarding the Feres doctrine.