Norfolk Southern reaches $600 million settlement in East Palestine derailment lawsuit
Norfolk Southern announced on Tuesday that it reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over the toxic train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, last year.
The company announced the settlement had been agreed to in principle and still required approval from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The lawsuit in district court was stayed pending approval of the settlement, according to a court order on Tuesday.
The February 2023 derailment involved a train that was carrying 20 cars with at least five toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, which has been linked to liver damage and a rare form of liver cancer. Eleven of those cars derailed. Norfolk Southern said the agreement would resolve class action claims within a 20-mile radius of the derailment and personal injury claims of those within a 10-mile radius of the derailment for those who participate in 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. This could include healthcare needs and medical monitoring, property restoration and diminution, and compensation for any net business loss,” the company said in a press release.
“In addition, individuals within 10 miles of the derailment may, at their discretion, choose to receive additional compensation for any past, current, or future personal injury from the derailment,” the release continued.
The company also said the settlement “does not include or constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing, or fault.”
The case, which was originally filed in February 2023, was allowed to proceed last month despite Norfolk Southern’s bid to have it dismissed, arguing it was protected under federal law.
The aftermath of the derailment, including its impact on the small village of East Palestine, made national headlines. Cleanup of the derailment is expected to be completed later this year, and the National Transportation Safety Board said earlier this year it plans to announce the cause of the derailment during a hearing in June.
The East Palestine derailment sparked a renewed push for federal action on freight safety measures and prompted Ohio’s congressional delegation to introduce new bipartisan rail safety legislation.
Last week, the Transportation Department finalized a new rule requiring all major freight railroads to maintain a minimum crew of two people per train, a measure long pushed for by rail unions and one that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg described as “long overdue.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who co-sponsored a rail safety bill last year with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), praised the Transportation Department’s rule as a step in the right direction — but stressed the importance of passing the safety legislation as well to make the changes permanent.
“Big rail lobbyists will do everything they can to roll this back,” Brown said on X following DOT’s announcement. “We must pass our bipartisan rail safety bill to make these changes permanent & require the railroads to do more to prevent derailments.”
