Report describes worker's illnesses while cleaning East Palestine derailment site
The deadline for people to opt out of the class action lawsuit over the East Palestine train derailment already passed. Now, a report that's been made public, goes into greater detail about the illnesses workers faced while cleaning up the site.
Even so, David Betras, attorney at Betras Kopp Attorneys at Law, said once the residents were involved in the class-action lawsuit, they are not able to file their own, separate lawsuits, even if they can prove there were long-term effects from being near the train derailment.
An Associated Press story is now reporting that workers experienced headaches and nausea after shooting compressed air into a creek. When chemicals from the water were released into the air, workers that said they didn't feel well were sent back to their hotels.
Even though this newly released information, anyone who didn't opt out of the class action Lawsuit by June 11 can't change their mind.
"If you signed up to be involved in this class-action, you are waiving all of your rights. If you don't sign up to be in that class action, you're going to have to go it alone. You're not going to share in this pool of money," said Betras.
Betras also said that the report did not mention any long term effects, which he says the public already knew about short term effects.
Jami Wallace, an East Palestine resident, said if the report was in the public eye sooner, people could have known they were being continuously exposed to dangerous chemicals.
"When these workers got sick. Where is their duty to warn the public? We're already seeing all of these health effects. Like this lawsuit, this class-action, is not even getting us health insurance, and we're not getting the money that their advertising on the television either. And just like I fought everything else, I'm continuing to fight," said Wallace.
Residents have until Aug. 22 to file a claim for the $600 million class action lawsuit.
But remember, the deadline to opt out of the suit was back in June.