After years of legal struggles and the indelible mark of a public health catastrophe, Flint, Michigan’s residents are seeing another chapter close in the ongoing water crisis saga with a $25 million settlement from Veolia North America, an engineering firm linked to the disaster, announced just this past Wednesday as reported by ABC12. This new settlement aims to contribute to the financial compensation for the community that has been grappling with the effects of lead-contaminated water, and when combined with the prior funds, the total amount for Flint residents climbs over $655 million.
As reported by Free Press, the deal spares both the plaintiffs and Veolia from what was shaping up to be a contentious trial set to begin February 13, while making provisions for individual minor claimants to receive payments of $1,500, capping at an aggregate of $1.5 million, the very designation of minor claimants underlining the protracted nature of this crisis has onched its way from the imaginations of worried parents into the ink of court orders. Veolia maintained their defense, stating in a news release that their recommendations for corrosion control were largely disregarded by government officials who bore the true responsibility for the crisis, a point the firm has made previously and consistently.
Meanwhile, the Flint community still bears the brunt of delayed justice, as payments from a previous $626.25 million settlement remain caught in the web of procedural delays. Ted Leopold, one of the plaintiff's attorneys, reiterated that administrators are endeavoring "to expedite it as quickly as they can," as per a statement he told Free Press. The sentiment was echoed by a weary Flint resident and activist, Melissa Mays, who remarked to ABC12, "One chapter closed, that will happen when we get the checks. Is it fair? Absolutely not."
In a turn of events, Veolia's settlement marked the winding down of the last class action case against the engineering firms accused of contributing to Flint's water crisis, according to numbers more than 45,000 Flint residents will be part of this settlement and there's a sense, perhaps a weary one, that this long, tortuous journey through the legal system might finally be nearing its end, this tone evident from Veolia’s attorney, Mike Olsen, who stated, "We thought this was an opportunity to put this case behind us and move forward" in an interview with ABC12. Yet, there remains another trial slated for October on behalf of seven more Flint children, as per information from their attorney, Corey Stern reported by AP News.
