(The following story by Jacob Jordan was circulated by the Associated Press on May 25.)
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Railroad owner Norfolk Southern would pay a family of five that was evacuated for nearly two weeks during one of the nation’s deadliest chemical spills at least $15,000 for inconvenience and minor injuries under a preliminary class-action settlement filed late Monday in federal court.
The settlement, which is subject to a judge’s approval, also outlines how Graniteville residents and businesses should be reimbursed for property damage, lost wages and profits after a Norfolk Southern train crashed into a parked train on a side track Jan. 6.
The wreck ruptured a railcar carrying chlorine and released a toxic cloud over the town, killing nine people and injuring 250. Some 5,400 people, nearly all living within one mile of the crash were evacuated.
The settlement offers $2,000 for being evacuated as well as $200 per day, per person for those who didn’t seek medical attention within 72 hours after the crash.
One exception is a few neighborhoods evacuated outside the one-mile zone. Those residents would receive $1,000, along with $200 per person for each day outside their home up to a maximum of three days.
“We were looking to try to quickly get relief to people that were evacuated that just needed some immediate help that don’t have large claims, but they were inconvenienced, they were put through an evacuation,” said Joe Rice, lawyer for the plaintiffs. “Everything else was just actual losses.”
How much money the railroad will pay will not be known until the claims are in.
If there aren’t any objections to the settlement, residents could begin seeing money by August and September.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Seymour will hold a hearing on the preliminary settlement Thursday.
The settlement does not include wrongful-death payments to the families of the nine killed or money for medical expenses to those severely injured from inhaling chlorine after the predawn crash. The railroad thinks fewer than 200 people sought medical treatment within 72 hours of the crash.
Norfolk Southern attorney Daniel White said the agreement continues the railroad’s commitment to take care of people after the crash. In the days following the wreck, the company reimbursed residents for expenses such as hotel rooms, rental cars, food and clothing.
“Our purpose in entering into this is to accomplish our goal from day one, and that is to put fair compensation into the hands of the citizens of Graniteville,” White said. “We believe that it is a very fair and generous settlement.”
Residents, however, began contacting lawyers after Norfolk Southern required signatures on expense checks that waived any future claims. Norfolk Southern removed the language, but some have said that set off a distrust between residents and the railroad.
Rice said the settlement provides more money for more people than previous offers.
“It’s substantially more money, at least that’s what our information is, and we’ll make sure that’s the case,” Rice said.
The settlement would avoid trials as well as attorney fees for some residents. The plaintiffs’ attorneys, subject to approval, will be paid 25 percent of the total settlement. But that amount will not be deducted from money paid to residents and businesses.
“We believe that a vast majority of the people of Graniteville and businesses will participate in this settlement because it provides an orderly, expedited process to put compensation into their hands,” White said. “We expect that it will be well received.”