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As both the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chico Enterprise-Record reported, the lawsuit we filed on December 7 outlines our new evidence concerning the cause of the Camp Fire.  An insulator on the 100-year old Pulga high voltage transmission tower failed, allowing an uninsulated cable to come into contact with the tower’s steel structure.  Once that happened, electrical arcing produced molten metal.  The molten metal dropped into the vegetation, igniting the fire.

PG&E’s entire system is old and decrepit, and instead of inspecting and maintaining it in a prudent fashion, they simply let it run until it fails and then fix it,” said Mike Danko, one of the attorneys involved in the suit. “Most of the time, you get away with that. … But you don’t get away with it in the situation that we have with the drought and the dry conditions.

Last week we filed our second complaint against PG&E on behalf of Camp Fire victims. The new complaint lays out additional evidence concerning the failure of PG&E’s 115kv transmission circuit. You can read the new complaint here.  The complaint includes this picture of the failed tower.

Image from second camp fire complaint

 

Residents are asking whether they are included in the Camp Fire “class action” automatically.  The answer is no.

The Camp Fire Lawsuit against PG&E is not a class action.  To join the lawsuit, you must sign up with a lawyer.  Your claim will be resolved individually, based on the damages you actually suffered.

 

CHICO, CA – Danko Meredith, Gibbs Law Group, and Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle, a coalition of law firms known as Northern California Fire Lawyers, today filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Camp Fire survivors who suffered injuries and lost their homes and businesses as a result of the region’s wildfires, which began on November 8, 2018.  The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that PG&E was negligent in failing to maintain its infrastructure and properly inspect and manage its power transmission lines, the failure of which ultimately caused the Camp Fire to ignite on Pulga Road near Paradise, California.

 

Specifically, the plaintiffs assert that PG&E has a long history of safety lapses that have caused injury and death to California residents, and destroyed their property, including the 2017 Northern California Wine Country Fires, the 2015 Butte Fires, and at least 15 other fires/ explosions in the past 25 years.  However, despite its abysmal track record and knowledge of significant safety issues posing immediate threats to California residents, the company failed to take proper precautions to prevent future disasters.

 

“Northern California families and communities deserve so much better than this,” said Mike Danko, one of the lead attorneys representing Camp Fire victims against PG&E.  “PG&E’s continued and repeated disregard for safety, and its inability to adequately maintain its equipment cannot be tolerated.   Camp Fire victims have suffered unnecessarily, and they deserve justice.”

 

“Our team of Northern California Fire Lawyers has successfully taken on PG&E in wildfire cases, including the 2015 Butte Fire cases, and we currently represent victims of the 2017 Northern California fires,” said Amanda Riddle.  “We are committed to using our unique knowledge and experience to hold PG&E accountable on behalf of those affected by the Camp Fire.”

 

Individuals and businesses that were affected, injured, or suffered damage from the Camp Fire and would like to learn more about their legal rights in the Camp Fire PG&E Lawsuits may contact our team at 530-208-3062.  Our attorneys are providing free consultations to anyone affected by the Camp Fire.  We pride ourselves on being there for our clients at every stage of the litigation, providing help and legal assistance in the immediate aftermath of the fire, all the way through settlement.

 

About Northern California Fire Lawyers

Northern California Fire Lawyers is a team of more than 30 attorneys from a coalition of three Northern California law firms: Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle, Danko Meredith and Gibbs Law Group.  Collectively, our fire lawyers have more experience investigating and bringing claims against PG&E than any law firm in California.  Our attorneys have been appointed by California judges to leadership positions in some of the largest fire and disaster cases, including the Butte Fire Cases, 2017 PG&E Fire Cases, and San Bruno Explosion lawsuits.

 

Our attorneys currently represent over 200 families who are victims of the 2015 Butte Fire that devastated over 70,000 acres.  We have earned hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients, and members of our team have been honored for their work with numerous awards, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Trial Lawyer of the Year,” and “Top Women Lawyers in Northern California,” among others.

 

Camp Fire Complaint – Filed

This week the Sacramento County judge who is responsible for overseeing the thousands of cases arising from the Butte Fire ruled that PG&E must pay property owners for the damage the fire caused.  

The first cases will be going to trial on August 11.  The order means that the issue for the jury will not be whether PG&E should pay the fire’s victims, but rather how much.

 

Ruling on Submitted Matter Inverse Condemnation Motions Signed 06-22-17 by Mike Danko on Scribd

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