Norfolk Southern announced Tuesday it reached a $600 million settlement agreement to resolve all class-action lawsuits within a 20-mile radius of the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment last year.
The settlement, if approved by a court, would result in compensation to individuals and small businesses impacted by the train derailment, and it would resolve personal-injury claims from within 10 miles of the incident. Norfolk Southern is not admitting guilt as part of the settlement.
“The agreement is designed to provide finality and flexibility for settlement class members. Individuals and businesses will be able to use compensation from the settlement in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment,” Norfolk Southern said in a statement.
Norfolk Southern has provided over $100 million in community assistance to East Palestine and the surrounding areas to help residents recover from the train derailment. The plaintiffs of the class-action lawsuit said in a court filing Tuesday they will be filing a motion to have the judge approve the settlement within ten days, CNN reported.
“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 the attorneys for the claimants in a joint statement.
The train derailment captured national attention last year after hazardous chemicals spilled over into the town and a controlled burn was carried out to prevent an explosion following the accident. Democrats blamed the accident on the Trump administration and its elimination of a rail brake proposal from the Obama administration. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed for greater regulation of the industry, in line with progressive priorities, following the immediately aftermath of the incident. A bipartisan group of senators from the region also proposed legislation to increase rail safety regulations in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment.
Former president Donald Trump and his supporters pointed to the accident and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s delayed visit to the area as another example of Democrats neglecting middle America. President Joe Biden only visited East Palestine earlier this year more than a year after the train derailment took place.
A preliminary report released last year by the National Transportation Safety Board found the train derailment was caused by an overheating wheelset caught by the third hotbox detector the train passed once temperatures started to rise.