"A new lawsuit filed by more than 700 residents of East Palestine, Ohio, makes the first wrongful-death allegations in connection with the 2023 derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in the village.
In the lawsuit, 744 current and former East Palestine residents make several allegations against Norfolk Southern, the railroad that operated the train, including civil conspiracy, negligence and nuisance. It also alleges seven people died “as a direct and proximate result of the incident and the negligence, recklessness, and other wrongful acts of the Defendant.”
The plaintiffs accuse Norfolk Southern of improperly cleaning up after the accident, also arguing that postcrash health and environmental monitoring was not adequate to catch lingering health problems among the residents. Although the lawsuit does not detail the circumstances of the alleged wrongful deaths, it lists health complaints among plaintiffs and their relatives including migraines, nosebleeds and memory issues.
The lawsuit casts the February 2023 crash as part of a pattern of safety failures, noting that in the 10 years before the crash, Norfolk Southern’s crash rate increased nearly 81 percent, including 38 incidents in Ohio in 2021."
Zack Budryk reports for The Hill February 3, 2025.
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