EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The attorneys who reached the $600 million settlement with Norfolk Southern on behalf of East Palestine residents and businesses clarified on Wednesday how the funds will be distributed.
Earlier this week, the rail company announced the agreement in principle to settle a class action lawsuit for the fiery February 2023 train derailment. The company has already shelled out hundreds of millions of dollars for community recovery and cleanup efforts. It also faces a federal lawsuit filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for civil penalties and damages to the state of Ohio.
Previously a member of the legal team estimated that just under 100,000 people could potentially be eligible for funds, including 25,000 who live within 10 miles of the crash site, and another 72,000 within 20 miles of the derailment.
On Wednesday the legal team held a news conference and was more vague about how many people will be splitting the millions after attorney fees that will be determined by the federal judge overseeing the settlement.
Typically attorney fees in class action lawsuits range from 25% to 35% and could potentially be higher, depending on the complexity of the case.
If approved by the federal judge, the allocation of funds would be determined by a point system that the attorneys said was a mathematical formula that has been previously used in similar cases.
Points would be assigned to factors like proximity to the crash site, the health impacts suffered, and the number of people in an affected household. More points would translate to higher compensation.
"There's a number of factors that are weighted and we are working with financial experts to translate that into dollars," said M. Elizabeth Graham, attorney from Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.
"So it's a fair and impartial process that is designed to compensate folks who are affected the most with the highest values," Graham said.
Once the payment distribution process has been finalized, those who are eligible will be notified by mail, according to census data in the affected zone.
However in exchange for accepting settlement money, individuals release any future claims against Norfolk Southern, even if they develop health problems decades later, the attorneys explained.
On February 3, 2023, 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 tank 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.
More than a year later residents still complain about respiratory problems and unexplained rashes and nosebleeds, but the greater fear is that people will develop cancer or other serious conditions because of the chemicals to which they were exposed. Researchers have only begun to work on determining the lasting repercussions of the derailment.
Norfolk Southern on Tuesday 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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.