After a drawn-out legal battle, the state agrees to pay Flint residents who had their health damaged by lead in the water.
What We Know:
- The intention of the settlement is to end all legal actions against the state for its hand in the decisions that tarnished the water supply in Flint, a city whose residents are mostly Black.
- According to court records from January, over 25,000 people suffered harm due to exposure to lead and other contaminants in Flint water. More than 5000 of those people are children younger than the age of 12.
- Negotiations have lasted more than 18 months as the offices of Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer worked with attorneys representing thousands of Flint residents.
- Though reports of the settlement started trickling out Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for Nessel’s office, Ryan Jarvi, told Reuters the parties are “bound by a federal court order to maintain the confidentiality of detailed settlement and mediation communications until we reach a certain point”.
- The bulk of the settlement will be given to children who were exposed to lead-tainted tap water after officials changed the water supply six years ago, reports The Wall Street Journal. Approximately 80% of the funds will go directly to Flint residents who were younger than 18 between April 2015 and July 2016. The remaining funds will be meant for other plaintiffs, including claims from property damage to loss of revenue.
- Mayor Sheldon Neely of Flint, Michigan feels that agreeing to this settlement is a vital step towards healing for the community.
“It allows Flint residents to move forward in a positive way getting out of the mindset of being victims but more as victors. And that’s where we need to move as a community.”
- Some fear the settlement is far too small for the number of people impacted, especially when comparing it to a recent payout at Michigan State University which provided $500 million to approximately 500 survivors of sexual assault.
There are intentions to publicly announce the news on Friday, but the settlement is not quite official yet; it is still awaiting approval by a federal judge in Michigan.
