On July 2, 2012, trial will begin in 16 San Bruno Explosion cases. The Court ordered that the cases to be tried first will be representative of the following eight categories of lawsuits that have been filed:

  1. Wrongful death
  2. Serious bodily injury which required hospitalization.
  3. Minor bodily injury which required some medical treatment and total property loss.
  4. Minor bodily injury which required some medical treatment and lesser or no property loss.
  5. Bodily injury, present at the time of the explosion and total property loss.
  6. Bodily injury, present at the time of the explosion and lesser or no property loss.
  7. Homeowner not present at the time of the explosion and total property loss.
  8. Homeowner not present at the time of the explosion and lesser or no property loss.

"Bodily injury" includes emotional distress cases. Victims select eight cases and PG&E selects the other eight. Often a case includes members of the same household who have suffered varying degrees of injuries. If so, then the case will be defined by the most severe category of claim.

PG&E continues its double speak. Repeatedly, PG&E attorneys told the Court that it doesn’t blame the explosion victims for their injuries. But when pressed, PG&E would not withdraw its legal arguments that the victims may bear some responsibility for their injuries. The touchy-feely public relations voice cannot be trusted until PG&E changes its legal position. Because of the double speak, the selection of representative cases will be tricky. PG&E may have evidence of turpentine in the garage or failure to timely evacuate – right now victims can only speculate how PG&E intends to cast blame at trial.