Some East Palestine derailment settlement payments should go out even during appeal of the deal

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Some East Palestine derailment settlement payments should go out even during appeal of the deal

2024-10-09 02:23 Last Updated At：02:31

People who lived near the disastrous East Palestine derailment last year should still be able to receive personal injury payments even while the bulk of their $600 million class action settlement with Norfolk Southern railroad remains on hold during an appeal.

A spokesperson for the attorneys who represented residents said provisions of the deal will allow those personal injury payments to go forward while an appeal challenging whether the settlement is adequate and fair moves forward. It's not clear how much of the settlement fund will be used up by those payments because the attorneys haven't provided those details. A federal judge approved the settlement last month.

The lawyers haven't provided any breakdown of how many of the roughly 55,000 claims they received are for injuries and how many are for property damage, nor have they said how much each person will receive. Only 370 households and 47 businesses opted out of the deal.

Residents who lived within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the train crash that happened near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in February 2023 were eligible to receive up to $25,000 apiece as long as they gave up the right to sue later if someone develops cancer or any other serious health condition.

The property damage portion of the settlement provides larger payments of up to $70,000 per household for those living within two miles (3.2 kilometers) of the derailment, with payments decreasing the further away people lived, up to 20 miles (32 kilometers) out.

About the only payment that is relatively certain is the $162 million in legal fees the judge approved as part of the settlement. That won't change unless the deal is overturned on appeal.

Residents don't really know exactly how much they will receive. Their claims are still being reviewed, and any settlement they get will be reduced by the amount of aid they accepted after the derailment when Norfolk Southern paid to relocate families and compensate some people for lost wages and damaged belongings. Plus, some lawyers who aren't representing the overall class are still demanding to collect a percentage of any settlement some residents receive.

At least $18 million has been consumed by administrative expenses, though the class lawyers now say that total will grow by at least $825,000 because the claims administrator will have to handle the personal injury payments separately from the property payments.

The initial appeal notice filed by the Rev. Joseph Sheely in the case was divisive in East Palestine, with some residents upset that their settlement checks will be delayed making threats. Then Sheely came forward publicly and said in interviews that he wanted no part in the appeal even though he was one of the small group of residents who questioned the deal this summer, casting doubt about the future of the appeal.

On Tuesday, four other area residents came forward and put their names on a notice saying they intend to appeal. They might face also complaints from their neighbors that they are just being greedy, but their lawyer, David Graham, said they are willing to take the heat to help ensure the deal is fair and addresses the town's needs.

“We’ve got good people who have stepped forward in the face of adversity and persecution that they know they’re going to likely receive. And they stepped up to file this appeal," Graham said.

The plaintiffs' lawyers filed a motion Monday asking the judge to order Sheely to post an $850,000 bond before his appeal could move forward. That may be moot now that the notice of additional appeals has been filed, but it's not clear whether the lawyers will ask all of the appellants to post a bond.

Those who object to the deal say they felt rushed to accept it without ever receiving a full accounting of the contamination they were exposed to when tank cars full of hazardous chemicals spilled their contents or when officials decided to needlessly blow open five tank cars of vinyl chloride and burn that plastic ingredient. Some doubt the Environmental Protection Agency's assurances that their town is safe, and the plaintiffs' attorneys never disclosed what their own expert discovered when he tested for dioxins and other dangerous chemicals around East Palestine.

The plaintiffs' lawyers reiterated in their motion Monday that even if residents feel like they have inadequate information about the dangers they face because of questions about the EPA response or the testing data the agency reports or the cleanup, they should be able to trust the lawyers because of the research they did and the experts they consulted.

Graham said that the personal injury payment in particular seems woefully inadequate. He said residents will quickly rack up medical bills bigger than that payment if they develop any kind of serious health problems.

The railroad has agreed in a separate federal settlement with the government to pay $25 million for 20 years of medical exams for residents, but that did didn't include any money for treatment of any illnesses that develop. That deal hasn't yet received final approval.

Lindsey Vonn takes a low-risk approach and places 14th in her return to World Cup skiing at age 40

2024-12-21 22:19 Last Updated At：22:21

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn was not about to put everything on the line in her first World Cup race back after more than five years of retirement.

Not with her history of crashes and injuries.

Not with her new titanium knee.

Not at age 40.

Vonn took a low-risk approach and finished 14th in a super-G on Saturday, crossing 1.18 seconds behind Austrian winner Cornelia Huetter.

“This was the perfect start,” Vonn said. “Today is just the first step and I’m not looking for more. Today I really needed to get to the finish. I wanted to have a solid result. And that’s exactly what I did.

“There’s definitely a lot that I have left to give," Vonn added. "Today was not the day to try to do anything special.”

Still, when Vonn came down, the crowd of Swiss-flag-waving fans turned silent in anticipation and all of the other top skiers watched her run on a perfectly clear day in the Alps.

“To have her back on the world stage is just fantastic,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “Just the attention she’s bringing to the sport and the role model she is — it’s a big day.

“These kind of moments transcend outside of just sports. We see it with Mikaela (Shiffrin) and what she’s done recently, which is just superhuman as well, setting all those records."

Vonn lost time early in her run but nearly matched the top finishers in the middle and bottom section of the Corviglia course.

When she reached the finish and saw her time, Vonn flashed a wide smile and waved to the crowd.

“I didn’t risk anything with the line. I was a little bit conservative in some sections, but overall I skied really well. Now I just need my top section to be a little faster and I’ll be in really good shape,” said Vonn, who is planning to race another super-G in St. Moritz on Sunday.

Vonn finished less than a second off the podium, which also included Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami in second place, 0.18 behind Huetter, and Sofia Goggia in third, 0.33 back.

“I’m really close to being there," Vonn said. "I’m just not quite there yet.”

Vonn started No. 31 under a new wild card rule for former champions. But that still meant going after all of the current top-ranked skiers had raced.

“The course was a little bit bumpy when I went and so some sections I was a little bit more conservative with my line," she said. “But in some sections I was really fast.”

Vonn had to cut her career short in 2019 due to a series of crashes and injuries, but then she had knee replacement surgery in April and had two titanium pieces inserted into her right knee. Her knee feels better than it has in years, so she decided to come back.

“The last few years of my career were so much different than they are right now," Vonn said. "I’m skiing without thinking about my knee, which I really haven’t done since I first tore my ACL in 2013. So it’s been a long time that I felt this good and I’m a little bit older, but honestly, I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I once was.”

Eight-time overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher also took advantage of the wild card rule and returned this season after five years away. But then Hirscher tore his left ACL while training in giant slalom and announced earlier this month that his comeback season was done.

Vonn left the tour with 82 World Cup wins — the record for a woman at the time and within reach of the then all-time Alpine mark of 86 held by Swedish standout Ingemar Stenmark. The women’s record held by Vonn was eclipsed last year by Shiffrin, who now has an outright record 99 wins.

Shiffrin, who shares the record of five wins in St. Moritz with Vonn, isn’t racing this weekend as she recovers from abdominal surgery to clean out a puncture wound she sustained in a crash last month.

Vonn is attempting to enter unchartered territory in terms of success at an advanced age in women’s skiing.

The oldest woman to win a World Cup race was Federica Brignone, the Italian who won the giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, in October to start this season, at age 34.

“It’s super impressive,” said Vonn’s U.S. teammate Jacqueline Wiles, noting that Vonn didn’t have as much preseason preparation as other skiers. “If anybody could do it, she could. The more she gets comfortable and gets kind of back up to speed, she’s going to be right in there.”

So will Vonn charge harder on Sunday?

“Step by step,” Vonn said. “Patience.”

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing