(CN) — Just over 14 months after a train derailment devastated the land and water surrounding the town of East Palestine, Ohio, Norfolk Southern has agreed to settle a group of consolidated class-action lawsuits filed by individuals within a 20-mile radius of the crash site.
The $600 million agreement will also compensate individuals for personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius of the derailment.
Norfolk Southern called the settlement part of its commitment to "make it right" for individuals affected by the derailment and emphasized that recipients will be able to spend settlement payments however they see fit.
"This could include healthcare needs and medical monitoring, property restoration and diminution, and compensation for any net business loss," the company said in a statement.
On Feb. 3, 2023, a 150-car freight train derailed just outside the town of East Palestine, home to just under 5,000 residents, and caused a massive chemical spill that included the release of vinyl chloride, a chemical used to make PVC.
Residents of the town were evacuated in the following days while officials began a controlled burn of the spill site that lasted until Feb. 8.
At the time, the burn was believed to be necessary to avoid a potentially catastrophic explosion — but further investigation cast doubt on the decision and National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy testified in March the burn was harmful and unnecessary.
Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency told residents their air and water were safe less than two weeks after the derailment, although some still complained of burning eyes and swollen lymph nodes. President Joe Biden was criticized for failing to visit the site until over a year later, on Feb. 16, 2024.
Norfolk Southern and the victims filed a joint notice in the Northern District of Ohio on Tuesday that the parties had reached an agreement to settle 31 class actions previously consolidated under the watch of U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson.
Layn Phillips, a former federal judge, participated in negotiations as a neutral mediator.
In its statement, the railroad company emphasized the work it has done in East Palestine and the surrounding area since the derailment, including over $104 million in contributions to community assistance programs and a $4.3 million donation to support upgrades to drinking water infrastructure.
Lead attorneys for the victims — Seth Katz of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh and Jardine; Elizabeth Graham of Grant and Eisenhofe; Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy; and Michael Morgan of Morgan and Morgan — released a joint statement in support of the settlement.
“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," they said.
The settlement will now go before Pearson for approval.
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