Few residents waive $600 million settlement over derailment in East Palestine, Ohio

Only a few people have ultimately opposed the Settlement in class action lawsuit amounting to $600 million Norfolk Southern offered those affected by last year’s devastating train derailment in Eastern Palestine despite questions residents had raised about the deal, lawyers said.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers said only 22 of the nearly 2,000 households in the small town in Ohio where the derailment occurred in February 2023, withdrew from the deal before the July 1 deadline. In total, only 173 of the more than 190,000 households in the 20-mile area around the derailment covered by the deal had decided not to accept it by Monday’s filing deadline.

During the train accident, various dangerous chemicals leaked from the tank cars, which burst, and a few days after the derailment, officials decided blow up and burn five tank wagons the vinyl chloride inside because they feared the cars might explode. The National Transportation Safety Board has stated that Venting and combustion processes was probably unnecessary, but the officers who made the call did not have all the information they needed.

A federal judge approved the deal provisional consent, However, a hearing is scheduled to take place in late September to decide whether the deal should go ahead. In addition, Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay a $15 million fine and make changes to its operations as part of a federal regulation.

In a statement Tuesday, the lawyers said that “the public response to the settlement has been overwhelmingly positive” and thousands of lawsuits have already been filed.

A few local residents have formally objected to the deal, saying it is unfair that some of the people most affected by the derailment ended up receiving the least compensation, and that people were not given enough time or information to decide whether the deal was fair.

Residents had the opportunity to hear the NTSB discuss the reasons why the train derailed and the communication failures afterward at the panel hearing on June 25, but the agency released its Final report by Friday – nearly two weeks after people living near eastern Palestine had to decide whether to accept the settlement. And lawyers have not yet submitted the detailed test results and other evidence they collected as part of the lawsuit.

Some residents could get little or nothing from the settlement because the final amount they receive will be reduced by the assistance they have received since the Norfolk Southern derailment. Even households near the derailment that were supposed to receive about $70,000 could end up with nothing if the railroad puts them up in expensive hotels or rental homes for months.

One of the leading critics of the agreement, Jami Wallace, said that people like her who lost their homes and became ill after the derailment should not be denied compensation.

“To receive nothing for suffering and intentional poisoning is neither fair nor appropriate,” Wallace said in her formal objection.

Norfolk Southern provided more than $21 million in direct assistance to families who had to temporarily relocate following the derailment.

The lawyers who negotiated the deal with the railroad have said such a set-off procedure is common in any litigation, so residents would likely face it even if they sued Norfolk Southern on their own.

The amount of compensation victims will receive will also depend on how close they lived to the derailment and how it affected them. Court documents show that a family living less than two miles from the derailment could receive $70,000 in compensation for property damage. Someone living farther away will receive significantly less – perhaps as little as $250 for families living more than 15 miles away.

Attorneys have explained that some people may be able to receive more than the estimated amounts after a claims adjuster reviews all individual factors.

Local resident Tamara Lynn Freeze said in a handwritten note to the judge that it was unfair to force her to accept the settlement before she even knew exactly how much she could receive.

The settlement provides for $10,000 in compensation for injuries. Accepting this amount, however, would mean that residents can no longer sue the railroad company if they Develop cancer or other serious health problems. You do not have to accept compensation for personal injuries to receive money for property damage.

Many people still complain of breathing difficulties, unexplained rashes and other symptoms more than a year after the derailment, while others have no health problems. And residents are worried about the possible long-term health consequences of all the chemicals they were exposed to.

The court will not allow possible future health costs to be taken into account in the settlement because they are not yet known, the lawyers say.

If the judge approves the settlement, the plaintiffs’ lawyers are expected to pay up to $162 million in legal fees from the settlement.