The 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine devastated a community. Yet, for many victims, the "second disaster" was the claims process itself.
To receive the aid they were promised, affected residents had to hunt for physical proof of residency—digging up old phone bills and credit card statements just to prove they lived in the affected zone.
Administrative errors led to improper denials, overpayments, and ultimately, a $17 million settlement with the claims administrator in late 2025. And many of the victims of the disaster will never recover the funds they were owed.
The result of this friction-heavy process wasn’t just frustration; it was failure. Reliance on manual documentation is a "silent killer" of class participation. In an era of big data, asking claimants to produce physical paper is archaic, unnecessary, and prone to massive error.
At Covalynt, we believe the burden of proof shouldn't rest on the victim.
Modern litigation requires modern tools. By utilizing advanced data science and identity resolution to check backend historical records, we can verify eligibility with far greater accuracy—without ever asking a class member to mail in a single piece of paper.
It’s time to stop treating 21st-century disasters with 20th-century technology.
In this video, we break down the lessons learned from East Palestine and why data science is the key to faster, more secure, and equitable settlements.
