In East Palestine, Ohio, nearly 900 people are suing the lawyers connected to Norfolk Southern’s $600 million derailment settlement, NewsNation reported. The residents argue they gave up future injury claims before they could see contamination information they needed to evaluate that decision.
Many families still fear health consequences and see the new lawsuits as evidence that the settlement didn’t provide closure, but instead marked another breach of trust.
Here’s what to know
The residents’ cases name class action attorneys, physician Arch “Chip” Carson, public relations firms, and Erin Brockovich’s legal advocacy group, East Palestine Justice. The complaints accuse those parties of malice and civil conspiracy and focus on whether residents were pushed to waive future personal injury claims without the testing data needed to make an informed decision.
Attorney Mindy Bish, who represents residents in the new cases, told NewsNation: “The attorneys who were involved in this case defrauded at worst, and at best, were negligent.”…