Many Victims Of The Ohio Train Derailment Are Upset With $600 Million Settlement

Rail giant Norfolk Southern announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to pay $600 million to settle consolidated class action lawsuits stemming from the fiery derailment of one of its freight trains in East Palestine, Ohio, last year. 

The money reportedly the largest-ever settlement for a derailment accident in the U.S. will go to residents, property owners and businesses located within 20 miles of the derailment site. The deal also includes a separate process for personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius. 

The four lead attorneys for the plaintiffs told reporters during a press call Wednesday that the deal is an outstanding result for East Palestine and surrounding communities and that their clients in the civil case are all very pleased with the outcome. Norfolk Southern admits no liability, wrongdoing or fault as part of the deal. 

We feel that the components accurately reflect what the community is looking for and what they deserve, said attorney Elizabeth Graham. The money getting it to them at this point and getting it to them quickly was a concern that we heard over and over again from our clients in the community. 

Many of the details still have to be worked out, including an allocation formula to determine who receives what. But some area residents and close observers were quick to dismiss the sum as insufficient, given the potential long-term health effects of exposure to toxic chemicals. 

A few days after the train derailed, Norfolk Southern intentionally torched five tanker cars full of vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical used to make plastic, that released massive amounts of noxious smoke into the environment. 

I am glad to see potential forward progress regarding the aftermath of the East Palestine train derailment, yet so much more needs to be accomplished. My gut reaction is that $600 million is not nearly enough, Misti Allison, a mother of two who lives just over a mile from the derailment site, told HuffPost via email.

When all that money is divided up and paid out, the individual victims wont even receive a fraction of what Norfolk paid its executives in bonuses in the year following the derailment. If an individual does develop adverse health conditions in the future, that small settlement amount will not nearly cover those costs.

Jami Wallace, a lifelong resident of East Palestine and president of the Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment, shared that frustration. 

What does it do for the people that are still being exposed and that are sick? she said. What does it do for our contaminated creeks?

Lead attorneys for the plaintiffs refrained from speculating Wednesday about how many people could ultimately receive payments. But one of the attorneys, Jayne Conroy, previously told Reuters it could be nearly 100,000, including some 25,000 residents who live within 10 miles of the crash site and another 72,000 located within 20 miles. Several larger towns are located within 20 miles of East Palestine. 

If the 100,000 figure proves accurate, that amounts to an average payment of just $6,000 per person. And thats before attorney fees are deducted. 

The lead attorneys stressed Wednesday that the allocation process will be far more complex than simply dividing the $600 million equally among area residents. 

The people impacted the most get the most, and it works its way out, said attorney Michael Morgan. Its not as simple as just saying, Theres this many people, and theres this much money. What does each person get? Thats not the intent here. 

Attorneys also swung back at the idea that $600 million is a low figure and urged community members to be patient as they work to finalize details of the settlement in the coming months. 

I would ask them to be patient and work through the process with us, learn more, before casting a final judgment of whether or not this is the right settlement for them, said co-lead attorney Seth A. Katz.

Weve worked hard on it. Weve looked at it from a lot of different ways and we do strongly feel that this is a very, very good result for this community to get the money thats going to be distributed to them now, without litigation risks, without dealing with many of the legal issues that are, frankly, a very uphill battle. 

The settlement comes approximately 14 months after the derailment and chemical disaster. While the negotiations that led to the $600 million settlement are confidential, Graham said Norfolk Southern started very low, and we started higher. The rail giant hailed the agreement as another promise kept by Norfolk Southern to make it right for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities.

The plaintiffs attorneys are hopeful that initial payments could go out as soon as the end of this year. Anyone who receives compensation for a personal injury claim as part of the settlement will forfeit the ability to file future claims. 

Allison said the East Palestine community will require long-term health care and fears the settlement will let Norfolk Southern off the hook for future health impacts. 

East Palestine, Ohio, experienced the largest chemical disaster in United States history, she said.

The long-term health effects these chemicals are going to have on residents, not to mention first responders who inhaled the toxic smoke for hours without knowing the deadly chemicals they were breathing, remain widely unknown. Look at the 9/11 responders, who were told they would be fine after breathing in the dust during the clean up for the World Trade Center. Those brave men and women didnt fall ill on Sept. 12. It took years for the full impact to be understood.