Norfolk Southern agreed to pay a $600 million settlement for the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment in February 2023 that exposed the community to highly toxic chemicals.
However, East Palestine residents said the money wouldn't go far enough to meet medical needs for the entire community.
“It’s not nowhere near my needs, let alone what the health effects are going to be five or 10 years down the road,” one resident, who lived three blocks from the derailment site, said, according to the Associated Press.
“The settlement agreement would provide funds for all class action claims within a 20 mile radius of the derailment, and personal injury claims within a 10 mile radius. The train company will also provide compensation for past, present, and future personal injuries resulting from chemical exposure, the residents’ attorneys said,” journalist Nick Sortor said.
“But there’s still a LOT to be done here, and we must continue to hold Norfolk Southern and the state and federal governments accountable. THIS IS NOT OVER!” he continued.
🚨 #BREAKING: EAST PALESTINE, OHIO TO RECEIVE $600 MILLION FROM NORFOLK SOUTHERN
This is a STEP TOWARDS JUSTICE for the great people of East Palestine.
The settlement agreement would provide funds for all class action claims within a 20 mile radius of the derailment, and… pic.twitter.com/aOOtxTUHOC
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 9, 2024
From the Associated Press:
More than three dozen of the freight train’s 149 cars derailed on the outskirts of East Palestine, a town of almost 5,000 residents near the Pennsylvania state line. Several cars spilled a cocktail of hazardous materials that caught fire. Three days later, officials, fearing an explosion, blew open five cars filled with vinyl chloride and burned the toxic chemical — sending thick, black plumes of smoke into the air. Some 1,500 to 2,000 residents were evacuated.
Norfolk Southern said the agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile (32-kilometer) radius of the derailment and, for residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius of the derailment.
A 20-mile (32-kilometer) radius around the derailment would include not only East Palestine and the people who had to evacuate but also larger towns like East Liverpool and Columbiana, Ohio, and possibly at least part of Youngstown.
The settlement, which doesn’t include or constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault, represents only a small slice of the $3 billion in revenue Norfolk Southern generated just in the first three months of this year.
East Palestine resident Krissy Ferguson called the settlement a “heart-wrenching day.”
WATCH:
US railroad operator Norfolk Southern agreed to pay $600 million to settle a class action lawsuit over a February 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals, according to the company and court documents https://t.co/Oz0cYFyV4F pic.twitter.com/yxcXFuMNqb
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 9, 2024
Norfolk Southern Agrees to Pay $600 Million in East Palestine Train Derailment Settlement
The company has ’made commitments to address three long-term concerns of residents: drinking water, home values, and healthcare.’https://t.co/z2SDocYnb4
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) April 9, 2024
Per CNN:
In a court filing Tuesday, the plaintiffs said they expected to file a motion for the judge to approve the settlement within 10 days. Attorneys representing the claimants said they hope to make the claims process easy and efficient and to begin sending out payments by the end of 2024.
“We believe this is a fair, reasonable and adequate result for the community on a number of levels, not the least of which is the speed of the resolution, and the overall amount of the awards residents can expect, which will be significant for those most impacted by the derailment,” said Seth Katz of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, M. Elizabeth Graham of Grant & Eisenhofer, Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy and T. Michael Morgan of Morgan & Morgan, in a combined statement.
Following the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, residents were ordered to evacuate temporarily. State and federal environmental officials say testing shows the air and water in the town is now safe, but some residents still complain of health problems, including burning sensations in their eyes, tingling in their lips, heaviness in their chest and swelling of lymph nodes in their necks and groins.
Since then, the company says it has spent $104 million in community assistance to East Palestine and the surrounding areas, $4.3 million to upgrade the area’s drinking water infrastructure and $500,000 for economic development, among other contributions. East Palestine has a population of 5,000.
But several class-action lawsuits say the company hasn’t done enough to remediate the toxic chemicals released into the area. They also blamed Norfolk Southern for negligence.
Last month, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy admitted the controlled burn from the Norfolk Southern train disaster was unnecessary.
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