Ohio GOP Attorney General Dave Yost told Newsmax that residents in the town of East Palestine, where a freight train with more than two dozen cars carrying hazardous materials derailed Feb. 3, should "talk to a lawyer" before signing any documents or taking any compensation from the Norfolk Southern railroad company.
"I don't have access to the Norfolk Southern financial ledgers, to see if money's flowing or not, I do know that there were offers of that, reports of that," Yost said during "American Agenda" on Monday. "My advice to anybody in the area is don't sign anything unless you're convinced you understand it. If you have questions, ask the questions, and get the answers in writing.
"I guarantee you that the people that are asking you to sign that paper have a lawyer. Make sure you know what's going on and talk to a lawyer. If I was in the area, I don't think I'd sign anything."
Cleveland television station WOIO reported Feb. 13 that Norfolk Southern was offering residents $1,000 each in compensation for the derailment if they would sign an agreement not to sue the company in the future.
"We have some clients from the East Palestine area affected by the train accident who are being approached by [Norfolk Southern] with $1,000 checks for an 'inconvenience fee,'" Michael J. O'Shea from the Lipson O'Shea Legal Group, representing residents in a lawsuit against the railroad, said in an email about the situation. "We think this is a sly way of getting these poor folks to waive any future claims against [Norfolk Southern]."
O'Shea came up with his own agreement for the residents to sign with the railroad company, acknowledging the compensation offer is only for "immediate help."
"This compensation is designed to provide immediate help to residents of East Palestine that were affected by the derailment and evacuation. Accepting money from Norfolk Southern as a reimbursement for expenses incurred during the evacuation order or the inconvenience payments for residents ordered to evacuate is not a settlement of any future claim against Norfolk Southern," the news outlet reported the statement said.
Yost said Monday that money is the best resource that could be provided for the about 5,000 residents in the community, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck and have been disrupted by the derailment and cleanup.
"The issue is, at the moment, money," he said. "People have had their lives disrupted.
"If you're going from paycheck to paycheck, and you lost a few days of work because of this, you're probably having some bills come that you're not sure how you are going to pay."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.