Information and Insights surrounding the Law and the Rights of Accident Victims and their Families
Information and Insights surrounding the Law and the Rights of Accident Victims and their Families
TV reporter Jean Elle interviewed me in my office, noting that the San Bruno blast is "eerily similar" to the Santa Rosa explosion and fire that I handled some years ago. She then put some hard questions to PG&E and got nothing back but double-talk.
View more news videos at: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/video.
Political leaders are calling for PG&E to install on its gas lines automatic shut-off valves to prevent or mitigate future gas line disasters.
Sounds like a good idea. Here’s an interesting snippet from a report of the NTSB, the agency that is investigating the San Bruno gas explosion:
The Safety Board believes that had an
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The google map below shows the spot where the pipeline exploded. It also shows the asphalt patches placed on the street surface by a San Francisco firm (D’Arcy and Harty) after it completed sewer work in May 2008.
Before a contractor digs in the street, PG&E is supposed to mark on the street with spray paint the location of its gas…
Insurance companies are businesses. Their goal is to increase profits. Sometimes they view settling an insurance claim with the victim of a disaster as a business negotiation. Following a disaster, homeowners may face the following problems:
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Questions and answers about the NTSB’s role in investigating the PG&E gas explosion and fire in San Bruno:
Why is the National Transportation Safety Board investigating?
Pipelines are considered modes of transportation because a product (natural gas) travels through them. Therefore, the NTSB investigates pipeline accidents that involve a fatality.
Will the NTSB hold the wrongdoer accountable?
No. …
Hearing about the San Bruno explosion brought back memories of another PG&E explosion that killed two, injured three others, and destroyed an apartment building in Santa Rosa. In fact, the Wall Street Journal even mentioned that explosion in its article discussing the San Bruno blaze.
I spent 4 years prosecuting the case against PG&E on behalf…
The California Bar’s Chief Lawyer is warning victims of the San Bruno explosion about unethical lawyers, and about the best way to select an attorney. The full text of the warning letter is set forth below. The highlights:
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Underground gas lines can leak because of corrosion, because they were improperly installed, or because they were damaged by a contractor’s backhoe during a street repair project.
A leak may be PG&E’s fault. Or it may not be.
But it’s always PG&E’s job to find leaks in its equipment. It is supposed to do this in…
I’ve listened to PG&E engineers on the "gas side of the house" try to convince me that natural gas leaks are not really that dangerous. They have argued that you need more than just a leak to end up with a fire or explosion.
First, they say, you need the proper mixture of gas…
A friend heard that PG&E was accepting responsibility for the San Bruno gas explosion. Wrong. They aren’t. PG&E’s statement is cleverly worded to avoid accepting responsibility until the case against it is proven. Read it carefully:
If it is ultimately determined that we were responsible for the cause of the incident, we will take accountability.
Once…