East Palestine train derailment settlement finalized soon

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN)- Lawyers dealing with the East Palestine settlement will be back in the courtroom on Wednesday.

This time, they are trying to finalize the settlement.

The $600 million settlement will provide some financial relief to those impacted. The plaintiffs in the cases are seeking damages for economic losses caused by the derailment, as well as for emotional distress.

The cases were combined into a class action in March 2023 after the first complaint against Norfolk Southern was filed on February 7, 2023. Some residents say the deal shouldn’t be approved because they don’t have enough information to evaluate whether they are getting enough compensation. The lawyers involved in the settlement say they believe it is fair based on what they know. But they haven’t shared details of their investigation with residents.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys said only 22 of the nearly 2,000 households in East Palestine opted out of the settlement In total 173 of the 190,000 households in the 20 mile radius decided not to accept either. Overall, roughly 55,000 claims have been filed in this lawsuit.

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