Business owners learn how to file claims tied to a proposed $4.5M Weaver fire settlement, years after the 2022 Winston-Salem evacuation.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — What started as a fire that forced businesses to shut down and residents to flee is now entering another chapter as impacted businesses learn how they might be compensated.
More than four years after the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant fire, business owners like Jane Bowman said they’re still feeling the impacts.
“When the fire hit, of course, we couldn’t go to work, nobody within a mile… it was kinda scary and then when I found out I was two doors away from the fire. I had to stop watching the news,” Owner of Golden Hands Therapeutic Massage, Bowman said.
Now, attorneys behind a proposed $4.5 million settlement are meeting with business owners to explain how to file claims and what compensation may be available.
“The official closure was for only three days. Most businesses could not go back to business for over a week,” said Roberto Helguera, a senior attorney with the Potts Law Firm.
Attorneys said businesses can either accept a flat payment of $10,000 or file for additional damages tied to larger financial losses.
Bowman owns a massage therapy studio near the plant, but her focus was on fellow business owners.
“I was worried about other people who needed their paychecks,” she said.
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Residents, like Lynn Benjamin, also came to the meeting still wanting answers years after the fire.
“That fire, from what I’ve heard, could have blown Winston-Salem off the map… and we’re right here within walking distance of it… oh yeah, yeah. I’m here,” Benjamin said.
Because for so many, the impacts from the fire go beyond money.
“[My biggest issue] trying to breathe… because that stuff was very toxic,” Benjamin said.
Attorneys said they are urging impacted businesses to file claims as the settlement process moves ahead.
“I think this is a community that deserves better than what happened to it during the fire and unfortunately in class actions, we, the attorneys, do all the fighting, we get the results, but then it’s up to the people to come up and claim their share,” Helguera said.
This proposed settlement still needs final approval from a judge next week before payments can move forward. Businesses have until July 15 to file a claim.
An $8 million settlement for individuals was already approved last December, and the deadline for residents to file a claim has already passed.
Attorneys said some residents who never received a claim form may still be able to pursue a claim by contacting settlement administrators and verifying they lived inside the evacuation zone.