Mar. 22, 2021 – Cal Fire investigators have determined last year’s Zogg Fire was caused by a pine tree contacting Pacific Gas & Electric Co. electrical distribution lines north of the community of Igo.
The Zogg Fire started on September 27, 2020 and burned a total of 56,338 acres, destroyed 204 structures and caused four deaths.
An investigative report on the fire has been forwarded to the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office.
Deaths related to fires are always tragedies. Sometimes, there is no one who can be held accountable in court. Other times, there is an individual or entity legally responsible for the death of a loved one. In a natural disaster such as the fires in California in 2020, do not assume that no one is liable for the tragic death of a loved one. Investigations may find that a person or company has contributed to the wildfires, giving a family member cause to file an unlawful death claim. Daniels Law can help with these claims.
The tragic loss of life caused by other people’s negligence or recklessness cries out for justice. A Cal Fire report found PG & E Co. equipment as the cause of the Zogg Fire, and further investigations are underway.
If investigations show that a power company or other person or entity could reasonably have prevented a wildfires with due care, surviving family members of the deceased may have reasons to file wrongful death claims against the person responsible. A death is “wrongful” if the actions of a person or organization result in death. Negligence, wanton disregard for the safety of others, and intentional injury can all result in an unwarranted death. You will need the help of a lawyer to determine whether your case has merit as a wrongful death lawsuit after a California Wildfire. Continue reading “Wrongful death from a California wildfire”
A blow to the head is a serious matter.
It could be a car accident, or maybe a trip / slip / stumble and fall.
The human skull does a pretty good job of protecting the human brain.
But it doesn’t protect perfectly.
So we see people with brain injuries of all kinds. The obvious injuries are where the skull is broken, when you can see brain tissue through an open wound, which is pretty good evidence that the brain is injured.
What many people do not know: Sometimes people suffer a brain injury even with the skull intact.
Many of these are so-called “acceleration injuries.” This means that a blow suddenly pushes the head in one direction, and when the head stops moving, the brain tissue inside does not. Continue reading “Brain injury from a fall or accident causing personal injury”
If you suffer a disaster such as a total loss from wildfire and need to claim on your insurance, consider these three principles:
Get a copy of your policies and read them.
Insurance always starts with a written policy, so the first thing to do when you get ready to make a claim is to get a copy of any policy that might cover your damaged property and read it through from front to back.
If you do not have your insurance policy forms because they have been lost, destroyed or are otherwise unavailable, you will need to obtain a policy reconstruction from the insurance company. Ask your agent or go directly to the insurance company’s policy services department. If you cannot remember who your insurance company is, you will need to do a little detective work. Start with your checking account. A check of your bank records may well lead you to any insurer that could provide insurance coverage for your damaged property.
Check your coverages.
Your insurance policy covers certain types of losses and excludes protection for others. That’s why it is important to get a copy of the contract right at the start.
A problem that often occurs after a catastrophic loss is the damaged property is not fully insured. Where a broker or broker advises you professionally on appropriate coverage or binds coverage based on their own professional expertise, you may have a claim for professional negligence if the property is not insured to its full value.
Watch out for Time Limits
Property insurance policies generally have their own deadlines, known as “limitation periods,” and the period during which legal action must be filed to enforce the contract is frequently shorter than the period applicable to a simple written contract.
If in doubt, consult a lawyer about the time limits for your claim. Be proactive. Once you have suffered a loss, a clock ticks somewhere that could limit your ability to claim back the insurance benefits.
Some insurance companies will not focus on depreciation when dealing with forest fire claims.
This is good news. Depreciation is something most people don’t understand when they are buying insurance and they can make claims settlement, well, troubling.
Simply put, your home or business building and personal belongings – furniture, fabric, tools, etc. – can lose value over time because they age, show traces of wear, or even become obsolete.
This fall in value is called a “devaluation” by the insurance industry.
The concept becomes relevant when you make a claim because of the way in which most policies are written.
Generally, claim reimbursement begins with an initial amount for the Actual Cash Value (“ACV”) of your loss. ACV is the fair market value of lost or damaged items: Think of the price a willing customer pays to buy from a willing seller.
To avoid depreciation, most insurance companies sell replacement cost coverage that can allow additional money up to the full cost to remove any item.
The catch is that you usually only get a complete replacement cost benefit when you actually replace the missing or damaged item.
I have seen how people have dealt with this concept over the years, so it is worth taking a closer look at how the process works. Continue reading “Depreciation in total wild fire loss insurance claims”
A personal injury lawsuit filed by Daniels Law resulted in a $10.9 million jury verdict against Los Angeles County. The personal injury case involved a man who suffered serious injuries when a county employee drove a forklift truck over his legs.
Jurors deliberated for nearly a day before determining that the county was responsible for the injuries of James Cobb, who was 34 when the accident occurred on the grounds of USC Hospital in 2015.
The award is more than double the county’s highest settlement offer, according to Daniels Law Partner Bill Daniels.
“The county offered to settle the case during jury deliberations for $5 million after initially making a $1.5 million settlement offer before the trial began,” Daniels said.
The county rejected an earlier $3 million settlement request, in addition to an offer to implement a so-called “high / low agreement” that would set a lower and upper limit on potential damages, even if the jury agreed to a higher or lower amount.
As Cobb walked across a crosswalk after parking his car, a forklift driven by hospital employee John Hill, hit Cobb from behind.
The impact caused Cobb to fall forward, and the forklift truck then ran over both legs. Cobb’s injuries required extensive surgery and ongoing rehabilitation. Continue reading “$10.9 Million Jury Verdict in Personal Injury Lawsuit”