Some people living in East Palestine are still waiting for their cut of the $600 million train derailment settlement.

“We haven't gotten a letter, we haven't got nothing, we haven't heard nothing” Terri Flowers, who lives in East Palestine right by the derailment site, said. 

Flowers says she filed all her paperwork with the Norfolk Southern Family Assistance Center months ago but nothing has come in the mail.

“We should get [the checks] out,” she said. “It will help my family out.”

Marci Henry also lives in the village and has been waiting too.

“No letter today is coming. I've checked,” Henry said. “...I’m just a little frustrated. It would just be nice to get past this part, move on and put that money away for the future if we need it.”

Some people have reported getting a letter this week with the amounts they can expect soon. The letter discloses the payment is only for the “Personal Injury Claim” and is separate from the “Direct Payment Claim” which will be disbursed at a later date. 

People like Flowers and Henry who haven’t gotten the letter aren’t willing to wait much longer. 

“I know it's a lot of paperwork to go through. It's a lot of people that were affected but there should be, in this day in age, there should be a better system to go through these things,” Henry said. “It's not like settlements are a new thing.”

“[I] just hope they get it together soon. We all need it, everybody needs it,” Flowers said.  “It will help out.”

A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern says they are not responsible for distributing the money. The attorneys who represented the people who filed the claims are. 21 News reached out to them for comment and did not hear back. 

A federal judge finalized the class-action settlement in September. Anyone within a 20 mile radius of the derailment on Feb. 3, 2023 was eligible for a portion of the money Norfolk Southern agreed to pay. Those who lived closer to the derailment are expected to get the highest amounts. Those living on the outer edge of the eligible radius are expected to get a few hundred dollars. More than 50,000 claims were filed.