Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers is accepting cases involving those who became ill due to the 2022 waste pit fire near Hinkley, CA, helping victims recover financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain, suffering and more.
We have been helping injury and wildfire victims for decades, having recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients. Our experience in handling wildfire and injury cases means we’ll be able to recover the most money possible on your behalf.
If you can’t afford to have your illness treated, we can get you to doctors who will treat your illness on a lien, meaning you won’t be charged for treatment until your case is over.
We will handle your Hinkley fire case on a contingency fee basis, which means you won’t be charged any fee until and unless we recover financial compensation for you. You won’t be charged any upfront fees or out-of-pocket fees – our only fee is a percentage of what we recover for you.
Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one became ill due to exposure to fumes from the Synagro waste pit fire near Hinkley – you can also fill out this page’s free case evaluation form or text us from this page.
Compensation Available for Hinkley Waste Pit Fire Victims
If you or a loved one became ill because you were exposed to fumes from the Synagro compost fire near Hinkley, you may be eligible for financial compensation for:
Medical Bills
You might already owe money in the form of medical bills relating to an illness caused by the fumes from the fire. You may also require future treatment for said illness. We can help you recover financial compensation for any past or future medical expenses related to the fire.
Lost Wages
You might have gotten too sick to work for a while due to exposure to the fumes. You might have also had to take time off from work to have an illness treated. We can help you recover compensation for any wages you were unable to earn due to any illness caused by the fire.
Loss of Earning Capacity
If you developed a permanent illness due to exposure to the fumes from the fire, this may have caused you to become disabled, representing a loss or reduction of your earning capacity which we can help you recover compensation for.
Pain and Suffering
Your illness may have caused you to experience physical pain and mental suffering. In addition, you may have suffered due to the noxious odor caused by the fumes from the fire. It has been reported that some residents near the fire had to turn off their homes’ coolers in the middle of summer because the smell was so bad, and this may have caused you to suffer. We can place an accurate value on the pain and suffering you’ve gone through due to the fire and make sure you’re fairly compensated for it.
Why Is Synagro Being Sued?
In May 2022, a fire broke out at a Synagro compost facility near Hinkley in San Bernardino County, CA. The fire quickly sent noxious, toxic fumes into the air. The fire lasted for months, spewing toxic, foul-smelling fumes into neighboring communities the whole time.
Residents of nearby communities reported animals and pets dropping dead. People with asthma had their breathing disrupted so badly they needed hospitalization. Residents reported nonstop headaches and burning eyes. Residents reported nausea, and needing to turn off air coolers during the summer because the smell was so terrible.
Lawsuits have been filed against Synagro, accusing the company of numerous things, including:
- Negligence
- Trespass
- Strict liability regarding ultrahazardous activity
- Private nuisance
- Public nuisance
The lawsuits allege that Synagro, as well as Goldman Sachs, the company who owns Synagro, allowed for dangerous conditions that caused smoke, noxious gases and toxins to be released.
The lawsuits cite a history of smaller waste pit fires as well as unresolved problems, including county inspectors citing the Synagro waste pit site for a total of 39 violations from November 2020 to April 2022.
The violations included too much film-plastic contamination in a compost load, as well as the site accepting unacceptable feedstock, including non-organics, mixed construction or mixed demolition debris, plastics and processed industrial materials.
The lawsuits also note that a violation occurred two days before the start of the fire – inspectors found that the waste pit site had taken in more waste than allowed on at least 12 days in the months of April 2022 and May 2022.
The lawsuits note that the fire at the waste pit led to 144% more air contaminant complaints in the region.
The lawsuits seek financial compensation for medical monitoring regarding the potential effects upon those who have inhaled fumes from the waste pit.
Perhaps most galling to many residents of communities near the fire is that Synagro continued to add more waste to the waste pit as the fire was still burning.
What Can Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers Do for Me?
There are many phases to handling a case like a Hinkley fire case. These phases are:
Free Consultation
The first thing we can do for you is provide you with a free case evaluation. During this free consultation, we will ask you about the harm the fire has done to you or your loved one, determine if you have a valid case, let you know about things like how much your case may be worth or how long it might take, and answer any questions you have.
Notifying Defendants And/or Insurance Companies
Once we accept you as a client, we will notify any involved defendants or their insurance companies that we are representing you. We will send letters and/or call to report your illnesses, inform any defendants or insurance companies that you are being represented by a lawyer, and inform them that all communications from here on out need to be sent to our firm rather than you. We will handle all communications with defendants and insurance companies for you so all you have to do is focus on recovering from your illness.
Investigating and Collecting Evidence
We will investigate your claim and gather evidence in order to support it. This may include obtaining copies of medical records as well as billing statements. Once you’ve been treated by a medical professional, we will ask for copies of your billing and medical records which we will send to the defendants or an insurance company, demanding financial compensation for your damages and injuries.
This may also include obtaining documentation of any earnings you lost. We will ask your employer for payroll information, or if you’re self-employed, work together with you in order to gather the needed earnings records in order to substantiate your claim for loss of income or earnings.
If needed, we will hire experts to testify on your behalf that the Synagro fire was the result of negligence and that your illness was caused by the fire.
Submitting a Demand Letter
We will not attempt to resolve your claim until we’re able to perform an adequate evaluation of your damages and losses. This typically means we won’t submit a demand for compensation to the defendants or their insurance company until you complete medical treatment, or reach a point in your medical treatment where there’s enough reasonable certainty about your medical condition in the future and any need for medical care in the future.
Once you and the defendants or their insurance agree upon a settlement, you’ll be required to end up signing a release which prevents you from seeking further compensation after reaching the settlement, even if you become aware of another illness or the need for medical care later on. Therefore, it’s wise for you to wait until an understanding exists regarding your injuries and medical bills before settling your claim.
Once an appropriate time comes, we’ll submit a demand letter which contains documentation substantiating your claims, demanding compensation for your damages. Settlement negotiations may commence after this. We will communicate and talk about all offers with you and give you recommendations, but any decision to settle is ultimately up to you.
Filing a Lawsuit
If we cannot reach a settlement, we will file a lawsuit in court, beginning litigation, which is the process of going through legal action. We will represent you in court and seek to recover compensation for you in the form of an award by the court.
Many cases are settled after a lawsuit is filed but before a verdict is reached in court. We will continue to negotiate for a settlement on your behalf during the lawsuit process.
Call Us Today for a Free Consultation
We have vast experience handling California wildfire and injury cases, as well as handling cases of illness due to exposure to toxic substances. We’ve been taking cases like Camp Fire cases, Dixie Fire cases, asbestos cases, Roundup cases and paraquat cases since 1990, having recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients.
The experience we have handling cases which are similar to cases involving the Hinkley waste pit fire will allow us to recover the maximum possible financial compensation on your behalf.
Call us today for a free consultation. Remember – we won’t charge any fee to handle your Hinkley fire case until and unless we recover compensation for you, meaning you don’t get charged if we don’t win your case.
