flint water settlement

Hundreds of people could lose their share of the $600 million plus settlement Thursday, if they don’t complete their paperwork.

The payment process has been hampered because some claims do not include correct Social Security numbers or required signatures. Claimants have 30 days to make the corrections or their claim will be denied and closed.

“The Flint Water Crisis was a man-made tragedy of epic proportion,” State Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote in a forward to the report. “My heart breaks for this loss and suffering,” as well as the fact that “to a large extent, justice has evaded the people of Flint.”

The current round of payments is only for those with approved property claims. It is the latest in the rollout of a settlement with those impacted by the Flint water crisis.

An online portal started processing payments for about 7,000 property damage claims since December 12. According to the official settlement website, 2,854 payments had been made as of Tuesday evening.

People in Flint should start receiving letters in the mail this week informing them how much money they will receive from the Flint water settlement fund.

Friday's court order says a letter will be sent to each claimant with instructions on how to set up their payment. There's more than $600 million in the settlement fund.

Starting in 2014, tens of thousands of people living and working in Flint were exposed to lead and other contaminants in their drinking water. The exposure began after the ill-fated decision to change the source of the city’s tap water.

More than 58,000 claims were filed for a share of an settlement pool worth more than $600 million set up by the state of Michigan and other groups in 2020.

The work on the Flint water crisis settlement fund continues and there are some key deadlines approaching. Attorney Trachelle Young discusses what's next in the process.