After Outer Banks power outage, millions available for vacationers and businesses. Here's how to file a claim.

A federal judge has accepted a $10.3 million lawsuit settlement from the contractors who accidentally severed transmission lines last summer that caused a costly power outage on the Outer Banks at the height of summer vacation season.

U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III issued an order on Wednesday that lays out the details of the settlement with PCL Construction, the contractors who were working on the Bonner Bridge on July 27 when Hatteras and Ocracoke islands went dark.

Businesses operating in the outage area will receive $8.1 million. Residents and vacationers or renters will receive $2.25 million.

The judge's order opens a five-month filing period for vacationers, businesses and others affected by the nine-day outage.

Attorneys Matt Lee and Pat Wallace of the Raleigh-based firm Whitfield, Bryson & Mason, which represented some of the businesses and people who sued, outlined the next steps in a conference call on Wednesday.

Anybody who thinks they have a claim for damages can go to www.obxsettlement.com. The site was not live at midday Wednesday, but the attorneys expected it to be available soon.

The Bonner Bridge spans Oregon Inlet between Hatteras and Bodie islands and carries the Outer Banks’ only north-south road, N.C. 12.

Utility officials have said that PCL knew the location of the high-voltage transmission cable that was damaged when workers drove a steel casing into the underground cable on the south end of the bridge.

Dare and Hyde counties ordered mandatory evacuations afterward, forcing some 40,000 visitors off Hatteras and Ocracoke islands at the peak of tourist season.

It was not until Aug. 4 when power was fully restored to all of the 10,000 customers who had been in the dark.

The contractors announced in March that a tentative agreement had been reached to settle six class-action lawsuits filed over the incident.

In the order entered by Dever on Wednesday, he wrote that attorneys who worked on the lawsuits could request fees of no more than $3.415 million.

Lee and Wallace outlined different scenarios for who might be eligible for some of the money.

Restaurant workers who lost wages because the businesses closed could get reimbursed. Tourists who lost money because they had reserved rental properties and were not reimbursed through a travel insurance plan could also be eligible for some of the funds.

A settlement administrator, who is a third party not tied to those who sued or the contractor, will weigh the requests.

People who were not party to the lawsuit also may file claims.

"That's the beauty of a class-action lawsuit," Wallace said. "It takes a few to step forward, but everybody gets to benefit."

Both attorneys praised all for the schedule of the settlement.

"It means that people on the island who were most hurt by a mistake — and that's what it was, a mistake — can get this money back before the vacation season starts again," Lee said.

This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 3:30 PM with the headline "After Outer Banks power outage, millions available for vacationers and businesses. Here's how to file a claim.."