Flint Water Crisis: $600 Million Settlement for Lead-Poisoned Residents
Won by Napoli Shkolnik.
Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik served as court-appointed co-liaison counsel for individual plaintiffs in the consolidated federal Flint water litigation, which produced a $600 million settlement from the State of Michigan in 2020.
What happened
In April 2014, state emergency managers switched Flint, Michigan's municipal water supply from Detroit's treated system to the Flint River without applying corrosion-control treatment. The untreated river water ate away at aging iron and lead pipes, carrying lead and other contaminants into the taps of roughly 100,000 residents for more than two years. State officials initially dismissed reports of discolored water and elevated illness rates, and the full scale of the contamination only became public in late 2015 after a pediatrician published blood-lead data showing a sharp rise in lead poisoning among the city's children.
The health toll fell hardest on children under six, whose developing brains absorb lead at far higher rates than adults. Lead poisoning at that age can cause irreversible cognitive delays, behavioral problems, and stunted growth. About 8,000 young children were ultimately identified as having elevated blood-lead levels. Thousands more adults suffered kidney damage and other injuries linked to the contaminated supply.
Federal lawsuits consolidated in the Eastern District of Michigan before Judge Judith Levy as In re Flint Water Cases (5:16-cv-10444). Judge Levy appointed Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik as Individual Plaintiffs' Co-Liaison Counsel, giving the firm a central coordination role across more than 18,000 pending and anticipated individual personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage cases. The firm established a bone-lead-level testing program for clients at offices in Flint, which the Sixth Circuit later credited in its 2023 opinion affirming the settlement.
On August 20, 2020, co-liaison counsel and negotiating attorneys announced a $600 million preliminary settlement with the State of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the City of Flint, and several current and former officials. The State of Michigan contributed $600 million, with the City of Flint adding $20 million, McLaren Regional Medical Center $20 million, and Rowe Professional Services $1.25 million, bringing the total fund to approximately $641.25 million by the time Judge Levy granted final approval on November 10, 2021. The settlement covered qualifying residents exposed to Flint water between April 2014 and August 2016, with approximately 80 percent of the compensation fund directed to victims who were under 18 during that period. More than 50,000 claimants enrolled.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.E.D. Mich. Court Order (Nov. 2, 2020): Reappoints Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik as Individual Plaintiffs' Co-Liaison Counsel·Archived copy
- 2.6th Cir. (2023): Opinion affirming settlement approval·Archived copy
- 3.Law Street Media: 'Flint Water Crisis Co-Liaison Counsel Seeks Final Approval of Landmark Settlement' (May 2021)·Archived copy
- 4.Bridge Michigan: 'Judge approves $626 million settlement in Flint water crisis' (Nov. 2021)·Archived copy
More proven verdicts from Napoli Shkolnik
All Napoli Shkolnik proven verdicts →As court-appointed co-lead plaintiffs' counsel in AFFF MDL 2873, Paul J. Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik negotiated a settlement requiring 3M Company to pay up to $12.5 billion to public water systems contaminated by PFAS compounds in firefighting foam, the largest drinking-water settlement in American legal history.
As court-appointed co-lead counsel in AFFF MDL 2873, Paul J. Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik helped negotiate a $1.185 billion class settlement with DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva to compensate public water systems across the United States for PFAS contamination tied to firefighting foam.
Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik represented Nassau County in negotiations that produced a $1.1 billion settlement with McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen, the three largest prescription drug distributors in the United States.
Paul Napoli served as court-appointed co-liaison counsel for nearly 10,000 firefighters, police officers, and construction workers who developed respiratory diseases after working at Ground Zero, securing a settlement worth up to $712.5 million against the city and its contractors.
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