Michigan’s Flint water settlement hits $600M
LANSING, Mich. – Residents and businesses of Flint, Michigan, would be eligible for payments from a victim compensation fund under a $600 million preliminary settlement announced Thursday of civil lawsuits arising from the contamination of their drinking water with toxic lead.
“The residents of Flint were victims of horrendous decisions by the state, its employees, and other defendants that have resulted in tragic and devastating consequences,” said Florida attorney Ted Leopold, who was appointed by a federal judge, along with Michigan attorney Michael Pitt, to lead class-action litigation that combined scores of individual lawsuits. Under the proposed settlement:
Flint residents would be eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars from a court-monitored fund, with nearly 80% of payments going to those who were under 18 at the time of the crisis. Children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead, which can affect brain development.
Parties to the settlement would include “multiple governmental defendants,” including the state of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and all individual state defendants, including former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who left office at the end of 2018.
The state would create a dedicated fund to provide special education for students who suffer long-term health and behavioral damage from lead poisoning.
Litigation would continue against the Environmental Protection Agency and private firms involved in the switch of Flint’s drinking water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River.
About 65% of the money would go to Flint residents who were 6 and under when first exposed to lead, with 10% going to those who were between the ages of 7 and 11 and 5% to those who were 12 to 17. About 15% would go to adults and 3% for property damage.
Flint residents and businesses who wish to make claims for personal injuries should visit flintwaterjustice .com, according to attorneys involved in the case.
Flint’s water crisis began when a state-appointed emergency manager switched the city’s drinking water supply from Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to Flint River water treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant. It was intended as a temporary, costsaving measure, but turned out to be a disastrous mistake. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged it failed to require needed corrosion-control chemicals as part of the water treatment process.
After Flint River water began flowing, corrosive water caused lead to leach from joints, pipes and fixtures, causing a spike in toxic lead levels in the blood of Flint children and other residents. Flint switched back to Detroit water in October 2015, but the risk remained because of infrastructure damage.
In 2017, a Michigan Civil Rights Commission report said the crisis had its roots in systemic racism and involved a “complete failure of government” in a city where most residents are people of color. Residents had complained for months about discolored, smelly and ill-tasting water before officials took significant action.