It’s been more than a week since the registration period for the Flint water settlement closed, but it remains unclear exactly how many people signed up.
People affected by the Flint water crisis had until March 29th to register for the $641 million settlement involving the state of Michigan, the city of Flint, McLaren Flint Hospital and Rowe Professional Services.
Tens of thousands of registrations poured in by the deadline. One attorney estimates about 50,000 people signed on. But forms post-marked by the deadline are still arriving at the office processing the claims.
There’s also another issue.
During a federal court hearing Wednesday, Special Master Deborah Greenspan appointed to oversee the process says there are an unknown number of duplicate registrations.
Greenspan expects to resolve most of the issues over the next ten days.
The issue is not expected to affect the timetable of the claims process.
U.S. District Judge Judith Levy has scheduled a July session to hear objections to the settlement.
Meanwhile, litigation involving other businesses and government agencies not participating in this settlement are moving forward.
State appointed managers decided to switch the city of Flint's drinking water source to save money. After the switch in April, 2014, people complained of foul smelling and tasting tap water. The city switched from the Flint River back to Detroit's water system in the fall of 2015.
Tests showed elevated blood lead levels in Flint children during the switch. At least a dozen people died during a Legionnairies Disease outbreak in Genesee County which coincided with the Flint water crisis.
