EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — On Monday, the second anniversary of the harmful 2023 East Palestine train accident, a lawsuit was announced for the first time claiming that the crash caused deaths. This comes alongside a wave of new legal actions related to the incident near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
On Monday, Vice President JD Vance visited the small community he used to serve as a senator and toured the cleanup with President Donald Trump’s newly confirmed head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, and other dignitaries. He told a meeting of first responders and local elected officials that the town “will not be forgotten, will not be left behind.” Vance was a new U.S. senator for Ohio when the fiery train accident took place.
After the tour and community meeting, Vance did not clearly explain how much the Trump administration will pressure the railroads to improve safety or if they will support the bill he worked on after the accident. Last month, the CEOs of the three largest railroads mentioned that they think the government will support the railroad business.
Vance stated that he thinks the U.S. needs to improve rail safety and promised to help with that. However, he also mentioned that it will be up to Ohio’s new senators, Republicans Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, and their fellow lawmakers to get it done. Husted and Moreno were with Vance on Monday, but they didn’t get a chance to talk during the vice president’s quick meeting.
In the firehouse of the town, Vance said, “We’re committed to staying in East Palestine for a long time.” What does that mean? This means that the cleanup of the world must happen. It’s sad that the last government didn’t complete the cleanup, but I promise we will finish it during this administration.
Outside the event, a group of protesters held signs that said, “Stop the Cover Up,” “Justice for East Palestine,” and “We are Still Sick.” Vance promised in his speech that the Republican government will be open about how the clean-up is going.
Resident Misti Allison hopes Vance listens to more than just the business leaders he talked to about economic growth. She said that health problems have not been taken seriously since the accident.
Families should know the long-term health effects. “They deserve a lot of work to be done now to protect their future and their children’s future,” said Allison.
What happened?
A new case has been filed with seven wrongful death claims against Norfolk Southern railroad, including one for the death of a one-week-old baby. It also claims that the train and its contractors did a poor job cleaning up, while officials at the EPA and the CDC approved their work and did not properly inform residents about the health risks. Many other parties in the case mention ongoing health issues and worry that something more serious might happen.
“Our clients seek honesty.” “They want transparency,” said attorney Kristina Baehr, referring to the about 750 people she represents. “They want to find out what they have been exposed to, which has been kept from them.” They want to understand what happened and why it occurred. “They want responsibility.”
The lawsuit shows how families are still affected, but it doesn’t mention any information about the deaths.
In the past week, at least nine more lawsuits were filed by people and businesses who say the railroad’s greed caused the derailment. They believe the $600 million class-action settlement is not enough money and doesn’t punish the railroad enough to make them stop future accidents. The dollar amount is just a tiny part of the $12.1 billion the railroad made in income over the last two years.
What happened two years ago?
On February 3, 2023, many train cars went off the tracks because a bearing got too hot and broke. Several cars transporting dangerous chemicals leaked and spilled their load, which then caught fire. Three days later, the situation got worse when officials blew open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride and burnt the toxic plastic material because they were worried it might explode.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board found that the vent and burn operation wasn’t necessary. They discovered that the train ignored signs that the tank cars were cooling down and would not have exploded. State and local officials who chose to release and burn the vinyl chloride, creating a large cloud of thick, black smoke, said they never received any warnings that the tank cars might explode.
“The EPA had rules but decided not to stick to them.” The EPA was too busy trying to get the train back on track to protect the people,” Baehr said.
EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou didn’t comment on the lawsuit but confirmed that the agency is dedicated to better public health. CDC officials did not reply right away. In the past, the EPA said their job was just to give advice on the effects of burning vinyl chloride and to check for pollution. Zeldin said he would make sure to focus on the town and finish the cleanup quickly.
Baehr noted that the way the EPA and CDC handled the crash is similar to how they’ve reacted in other environmental crises, like the Navy’s jet fuel spill that polluted water in Hawaii. She said that agencies usually minimize possible health risks. Residents are upset about the information the EPA shares and the class-action lawyers not showing what their tests found.
How did the railroads react?
A representative for Norfolk Southern refused to discuss the legal case but disagreed with Vance’s claim that the railroad hasn’t kept its promises to help East Palestine recover after spending over $115 million. “We’ve made a lot of progress, but we still have work to do,” said spokesperson Heather Garcia. “Our team on the ground continues to ensure we’re meeting the priorities of the community.”
The railroad has also agreed to a $600 million class-action settlement for people within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of the crash and a separate settlement with the federal government in which Norfolk Southern pledged to pay for the cleanup, medical exams and drinking water monitoring. The railroad did not say it did anything wrong in either deal.
Norfolk Southern and other big railroads promised to make safety better after the crash by adding more trackside detectors to find technical issues before they lead to a derailment. Federal officials say that the measures taken haven’t significantly improved safety, and Vance’s bill to add more changes did not pass.
On Monday, the rail unions requested the major railroads to participate in a federal program that allows workers to report safety issues privately. At the same time, some members of Congress prepared to push for new laws on this matter.
Jared Cassity, the safety director for the biggest train union for conductors, the SMART-TD, said that even with the worries raised by the East Palestine derailment, “very little has changed.”
What payment has the town gotten?
Some local residents have begun to receive payments for personal injuries as part of the class-action settlement. However, almost half of the settlement money is still on hold because some people are asking for higher payments and more details about the pollution.
The main payments of up to $70,000 for each home will not be sent until the appeal is resolved.
Last week, Norfolk Southern decided to pay $22 million to settle issues related to East Palestine. This amount includes $13.5 million that the railroad has already spent to improve the water treatment plant and to replace equipment for the police and fire departments. The train is spending $25 million to improve a park. That includes part of the $115 million that the train mentioned.
What about the other legal cases?
The other nine new cases include claims from a pipe manufacturer, dog kennels, and a winery, saying the derailment hurt their businesses. A business claimed that cleanup work caused “smoke, debris, and bad smells” and resulted in regular flooding. The dog breeder said that harmful chemicals caused the deaths of at least 116 pups and three adult dogs.
Leave a Comment