Strauss Troy is currently representing nearly 600 residents of East Palestine, Ohio (EP) and closely surrounding areas for the losses and damages they sustained as a result of the derailment of the Norfolk Southern train. Ron Parry of Strauss Troy has been appointed to serve on the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in the litigation before Judge Benita Pearson of the Federal District Court in Youngstown, Ohio.
On February 3, 2023, thirty-eight (38) rail cars derailed in EP. This included eleven (11) that were carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited. First responders created a one mile evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected approximately 2,000 residents.
Of most concern was the derailment of five cars carrying over 115,000 gallons of vinyl chloride which could have posed an explosion hazard. Responders scheduled a controlled venting of the vinyl chloride tank cars and dug ditches to contain the released vinyl chloride while it vaporized and burned. This release of vinyl chloride seriously contaminated the surrounding areas, including Sulfur Run Creek, which is adjacent to the derailment site. Sulfur Run Creek ultimately runs into the Ohio River and several days after the derailment, the City of Cincinnati shut down its water intake fearing that the pollutants would affect Cincinnati’s water supply.
The families living in EP are concerned about their exposure to hazardous chemicals and fear that their water supply and/or soil is permanently poisoned, which will negatively affect property values in the area on a permanent basis. Those families are also concerned about adverse health conditions that may develop in the future, and will seek the cost of sufficient medical monitoring going forward.
Strauss Troy is working with the Louisiana firm of Fayard and Honeycutt and the Paducah, Kentucky firm, the Bryant Law Center. Lawyers with those firms have been involved in over a dozen train derailment cases over the past 40 years. Also associated with Strauss Troy are Davis Environmental Attorneys of Asheville, North Carolina and attorney Jim Mackall, a native of East Palestine.
With their combined expertise, Strauss Troy and their co-counsel are committed to helping these families receive the compensation they deserve for the losses and damages they sustained as a result of this tragic event.