The compensation plan offers payments from $328,000 to $3.7 million for the 47 individuals killed
Families of the victims of the train crash near Lac-Megantic which happened back in 2013 are being proposed compensation around $77 million as a part of a plan to pay for the damages and reconstruction costs. The disaster has taken place when an unattended 74-car freight train carrying Bakken formation crude oil began rolling down the tracks and derailed, resulting in the fire and explosion of multiple tank cars. 42 people got killed, 5 more presumed dead. Another victim, a local firefighter who was among the first response crews to the rail crash, took his own life several months after the disaster, in an incident that the coroner’s office connected to emotional aspect of the train derailment, which took several of the young man’s friends’ lives, including his ex-girlfriend. More than 30 buildings in the town were destroyed, making it the fourth-deadliest rail accident in history of Canada.
All except 800 of the evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes in the afternoon on the third day of the disaster. All but 200 people were able to return by the sixth day. At least twenty families had no home to return at all.
Raymond Lafontaine, a local contractor who lost a son, two daughters-in-law and an employee, has raised concerns about poor condition of the track owned by MM&A and about the increasing number of dangerous goods being transported through downtown areas. He has asked the tracks be repaired and rerouted to bypass the town’s core.
An original draft plan was presented to public in the morning on Wednesday (April 1, 2015). To calculate payouts to families whose members were killed in that horrible disaster, a complex point system has been used. The plan, which considers various factors, such as a victim’s age, income, family and children, announces settlement amounts, starting from $328,000 at the lowest to the highest of $3.7 million, summing up to $77.2 million grand total. The money was compiled from around twenty companies representing oil exploration firms, the Irving Oil company, tank car owners, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the MMA (Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway) company and several insurance companies.
The schemed settlement agreement also allocates over half of the money obtained from insurance companies, the bankruptcy sale of the railway and amounts contributed by other parties found to be liable in the accident to pay back the local, provincial and federal governments who have paid out in emergency support for those in need of housing and for the disaster clean up and reconstruction.
The provincial government which has paid the majority of the costs, is looking into redeeming $409 million under the compensation plan. Last summer, the province of Quebec has submitted a claim against the MM&A rail company calling for $400 million in estimated costs. $21 million will be adjudged to the federal government, the municipal government in Lac-Megantic town would be granted $5 million.
The proposed sum also includes a breakdown of the amounts that would go to the victims who lost property, living or were otherwise injured in the train disaster. Around 3,700 people will split $11.5 million allocated for “trouble and inconvenience,” and about 1,850 people who were evacuated from their houses will receive $620 a day, for every day they had to stay out, totaling to $6.43 million.
Around 200 people who were diagnosed with either short-term or long-term PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) are waiting for impending $9.3 million in compensation: $31,000 for each case of short term and $62,000 for each case of long-term PTSD. Two more victims who suffered bodily injuries in the train derailment will get compensation of $31,000 each.
The proposed settlement agreement also designates $75 million for residential property owners and business owners who suffered property damage in the disaster.
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