A toxic train crash that was supposed to be "settled" by now is anything but, and the Lever takes a deep look into what's gone wrong. Nearly three years after Norfolk Southern's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, residents describe a payout process so snarled by delays, fine print, and alleged mismanagement that many still haven't seen a dollar. Reporter Katya Schwenk details how a $600 million class-action settlement, hailed as historic, quickly turned into a maze: Attorneys took $180 million upfront, a private-equity-backed administrator allegedly misallocated more than $17 million and denied thousands of claims, and residents who signed away future health claims for roughly $25,000 are now learning there isn't enough money to give everyone even that.
"They thought, 'They're hillbillies, throw them a couple bucks and be done with it,'" says 54-year-old Ben Terwilliger, whose home is near the derailment site. The story zooms in on other locals whose lives were upended by the derailment and then by the legal aftermath, and on a new lawyer trying to unwind the deal by accusing the original attorneys who stampeded into town of misleading the community. It also follows scientists still unsure of the long-term health risks of the chemicals in the crash: The train carried thousands of gallons of vinyl chloride, and the railroad set the toxins on fire after the crash in a controlled burn, "contrary to expert advice it received," per the story. As all this continues to unfold, Norfolk Southern trains keep rolling through town. Read the full story.
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