S.C. Judge Approves Class Action Personal Injury Settlement In Train Derailment Case In Which Toxic Fumes Were Released into the Area
Posted by
Amy RothschildJune 27, 2007 10:25 AMA South Carolina United States District Court Judge recently approved a class action settlement brought on behalf of hundreds of victims who were injured when a train derailed in the small town of Graniteville, South Carolina on January 6, 2005, releasing a poisonous gas cloud of highly toxic fumes into the air. The settlement that was recently approved will provide relief to 480 personal injury victims who secured medical attention within three months of the derailment. Each victim will receive anywhere from $10,000 up to several hundred thousand dollars, depending upon various factors including the severity of their injuries, how close they lived to the derailment or why they were exposed to the gas.
Norfolk Southern Corporation had already settled with the surviors of the nine people that were killed and others who had to be evacuated as a result of the wreck but suffered no serious injuries. Several dozen independent lawsuits that were not part of the class action personal injury lawsuit have still not been resolved with Norfolk Southern Corporation.
The American train disaster in Graniteville, South Carolina, occurred on January 6, 2005, when a train owned by Norfolk Southern Corporation collided with a mill. One of the train's tank cars which held highly toxic chlorine ruptured which resulted in the release of at least 90 tons of the toxic gas into the area. Nine people died from inhalation. At least 234 others had to go to area hospitals for treatment as a result of inhaling the toxicfumes.
Residents living within a one mile radius of the crash site had to be evacuated for nearly two weeks while Hazardous Material teams and clean up crews came in to decontaminate the area. A total of about 5400 residents in this small community had to be evacuated.
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