The first payments from a more-than $600 million fund to settle Flint water crisis lawsuits have been made.
It's another step in the years-long effort to compensate people who were hurt by elevated lead levels in the city's water supply.
More than a decade ago, the ill-fated decision to switch Flint’s drinking water source led to the city’s drinking water being contaminated by lead. Improperly treated water from the Flint River damaged aging pipes, releasing lead and other contaminants. Flint’s tap water source wasn’t switched back to Detroit’s water system for 18 months.
Nearly 26,000 claims have been approved for a share of the settlement fund.
So far, the online portal has only been processing payments for about 7,000 property damage claims. That process started December 12.
According to the official settlement website, 2,854 payments had been made as of Tuesday evening.
Future payments will involve claims addressing health damages to adults and children.
Here's a breakdown of how most of the settlement fund is being apportioned:
- Children 6 and under at the time of the water crisis are allocated 64.5% of the fund.
- Children ages 7–11 at the time of the water crisis are allocated 10%.
- Children ages 12–17 at the time of the water crisis: 5%.
- Adults at the time of the water crisis with eligible injury: 15%.
- Residential property damage claims: 3% (up to $1,000 per property).
- Business loss claims: 0.5% (up to $5,000 per business).
Altogether, there are 30 categories where claims have been assigned.
Most of the payments will be modest. Property claims will receive about $1,000.
But some claims, particularly those involving people who were young children during the Flint water crisis and have documented high lead exposure, will receive compensation of around $100,000.
The exact size of the Flint water settlement fund is unclear. Since its initial creation in 2020, the original $626.5 million fund has continued to grow from interest earnings.
