Michigan to pay $600M in lawsuit settlement for Flint water crisis

A county judge in Michigan has approved the settlement of Flint water crisis lawsuits, making it the largest state settlement in history, with Michigan paying $600 million in compensation. The decision was announced on Tuesday by Attorney General Dana Nessel, over two years after the preliminary approval was given in 2021. The overall settlement will also involve $20 million from the city, $5 million from McLaren Regional Medical Center, and $1.5 million from Rowe Professional Services, with the initial agreement having McLaren pay $20 million instead of $5 million. Judge Judith E. Levy of the Eastern District of Michigan approved the agreement in January 2021.

While the settlement will not erase the damage and health effects experienced by the families and children of Flint, Nessel stated that it will at least provide them with the financial compensation they deserve. She commended the hard work of her team on behalf of the people of Flint. In 2014, officials from the state of Michigan switched the city’s drinking water source from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River, resulting in the exposure of around 12,000 children to lead-contaminated water and a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that caused the deaths of at least 12 people.

Former Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI) faced misconduct charges in 2021, seven years after the Flint water crisis began, but they were dismissed in December 2022. In the same year, charges against seven other officials were also thrown out due to a procedural error in October. The Michigan Supreme Court had earlier ruled that one-person grand juries could not bring indictments against government officers.

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