EAST PALESTINE — Nearly six months after final approval was given to the $600 million settlement agreement between those impacted by the 2023 East Palestine train derailment and Norfolk Southern, many residents still await what was promised to be quick personal injury payments by the end of 2024.

Mayor Trent Conaway recently contacted Kroll Administration — the firm processing the claims — to see what, if any, information he could obtain to pass on to the residents regarding the delay.

“I reached out to Kroll concerning the class action settlement. The village has tried to stay out of that because the village as a whole is not part of that, but I understand that our citizens and everybody is upset that they haven’t got their checks and there were promises made,” Conaway said. “The gentleman I talked to is the administrator for our class action. He said they are working with Norfolk Southern and they think in the next six weeks they will have all the letters out. That’s not your money. That’s just the letters.”

Residents who resided or worked within 10 miles of the derailment and who opted into the personal injury component of the settlement will first receive a determination letter that will disclose the amount of the personal injury payment and once a letter is received, a class member has two weeks to accept or challenge the amount (up to $25,000) determined by an allocation system. That system considers among other things symptoms experienced, medical diagnoses received, age, and distance and direction from the derailment site.

The personal injury payments are funded by $120 million set aside from the $600 million ($420 million after $180 million is deducted for attorney fees). More than 55,000 households elected to participate in the settlement — personal injury and property damages (which are halted due to appeals) combined.

Personal injury payments were not subject to appeals and according to information provided to residents during an Aug. 1 Zoom meeting hosted by lead co-counsel Seth Katz, Elizabeth Graham, Adam Gomez and Michelle Kranz, personal injury claims had a “timely payment provision that ensures claimants receive their settlement money within 30 days — which will be this year — regardless of whether appeals in the courts go on for longer.”

Conflicting information began circulating almost immediately after final approval was granted with attorneys and Kroll insisting that personal injury payments were to only “begin within 30 days of final approval.” Kroll employees have told residents and media outlets on a weekly basis that large batches of letters are set to go out with the numbers differing wildly — anywhere from 1,500 to 5,500, but with each new week that passes, few people report having received letters and even fewer report receiving amounts close to what they were told they were qualified.

The latest contradicting details circulating on social media pages set up by residents to share payment information and updates are whether Norfolk Southern has to “sign off” on the payments. According to some residents, Kroll explained that the railroad has to approve each claim after it is processed. Others say they have been told that is not true.

Conaway’s conversation with Kroll seemed to confirm the review process.

“(Kroll’s) goal is to get letters out but that’s being held up between Norfolk Southern and them,” Conaway said. “They look over all the papers then Norfolk Southern looks over all the papers and then it goes back and forth, but they are working their best to try to get it done. It’s not a Norfolk thing. It’s not a Kroll thing, I think it’s just a slow process.”

Residents who have reached out to Kroll via email recently reported getting an automated response that also confirms the railroad approval process.