Nadrich & Cohen is actively retaining victims of the Fairview Fire.
The Fairview Fire erupted on September 5, 2022, east of Hemet, California, in Riverside County. In a report submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission, Southern California Edison (SCE) stated that “circuit activity occurred close in time to the report time of the fire.”
California utilities are liable under California law for all damages that are the result of fires started by their electrical equipment.
While there is an ongoing CAL FIRE investigation, the circumstances surrounding this fire so far are eerily similar to what we’ve seen in other fires, such as the Woolsey Fire and Thomas Fire, which have led to cases we have handled against SCE.
Damages Available to Fairview Fire Victims
Our experienced California wildfire lawyers are representing Fairview Fire victims on a contingency fee basis, meaning a fee won’t be charged unless and until we obtain financial recovery from SCE for you.
If you or a loved one suffered property damage/destruction or was injured, killed, or evacuated due to the Fairview Fire, you may be eligible for financial compensation for:
- Costs to evacuate
- Smoke damage
- Replacement or repair costs for your property and/or home
- Lost wages
- Loss of personal property or belongings
- Medical bills
- Emotional distress
- Land value depreciation
- Injury or death due to the fire
- Damage to trees, underwood, or timber
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Lost crops
- Harm to or loss of livestock/pets
- Business losses
- Business interruption
We have filed hundreds of lawsuits on behalf of victims of California wildfires, and we have recovered over $350,000,000 on behalf of clients since 1990. We can help you understand what damages you may be entitled to during a free consultation.
Fairview Fire Lawsuits
We have handled cases involving multiple wildfires started by SCE, including the Thomas Fire and the Woolsey Fire. We have also handled cases involving multiple wildfires started by other utilities in California, such as the Camp Fire and the Dixie Fire.
The common thread between all these cases is that the wildfires started because California utility companies like SCE failed to properly maintain their electrical equipment and the vegetation surrounding them. These cases have involved numerous dangerous conditions that utilities have failed to properly deal with, such as:
- Aging, poorly-maintained equipment
- Hot, dry, windy conditions that constitute predictable wildfire risks
- Dry vegetation growing too close to power lines
When utilities fail to maintain their equipment and the vegetation around it or fail to properly deal with predictable wildfire risks like specific weather patterns, these failures can lead to their equipment starting wildfires.
Wildfire victims are able to recover financial compensation for damages in wildfire lawsuits under the causes of action of inverse condemnation and negligence.
What Is Inverse Condemnation?
California’s constitution establishes the concept of inverse condemnation in the state by stating that entities can’t damage private property for public use unless they justly compensate property owners. This concept, according to California court rulings, applies to property that is damaged by wildfires that private or public utility companies are responsible for starting.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence is failing to exercise reasonable care to prevent harm. Californians are eligible for financial compensation for damages resulting from negligence under California law.
It is negligent for utility companies to fail to properly maintain their equipment and the surrounding vegetation or to fail to properly respond to weather conditions that constitute obvious wildfire risks.
Reasonably careful utilities would make sure their equipment and surrounding vegetation are adequately maintained. Reasonably careful utilities would take steps to reduce wildfire risks when weather conditions posing an obvious, extreme wildfire risk exist.
When you reach out to us for a free consultation, we can discuss further with you if you have valid grounds allowing us to file a Fairview Fire lawsuit for you.
How We Can Help You
Nadrich & Cohen fights to recover losses that aren’t covered by our clients’ insurance companies. A lot of victims of California wildfires discover, once they repair or rebuild their property, that insurance money fails to fully compensate for costs such as home rebuilding costs, personal property replacement, and the restoration of landscaping.
We will file claims for underinsured and uninsured economic damages, including:
- Evacuation costs
- Property damage
- Discomfort damages
- Annoyance damages
- The payment of attorney costs and fees
These are all damages we have successfully recovered in past California wildfire cases.
Our firm and our partners work with leading experts who have tremendous experience in investigating wildfires. While there is an ongoing CAL FIRE investigation, the circumstances now surrounding the Fairview Fire resemble the circumstances surrounding other fire cases we have handled against SCE in the past.
This means it’s vital that you immediately hire experienced, skilled lawyers like Nadrich & Cohen who can preserve your legal rights.
What Should I Do After the Fairview Fire?
Those who have been harmed by the Fairview Fire have legal rights. There are steps wildfire victims should take to ensure these rights are protected, even when it seems like all losses might be covered by an insurance company. If you are a victim of the Fairview Fire, you should:
- Contact your insurance company immediately, report your losses, and request a copy of your policy.
- Document whatever you can, such as medical records, bills, correspondence with your insurance company, etc. Take pictures of any and all damage to property.
- Maintain a list of everything destroyed or damaged by the Fairview Fire.
- Collect receipts for all evacuation expenses, like the cost of food, clothing, or lodging.
- Call Nadrich & Cohen today so that we can make sure insurance companies don’t act in bad faith. Insurance companies may refuse to offer you a fair settlement if you don’t have a lawyer, even if your policy covers all your losses.
Contact Our California Fairview Fire Lawyers
We have tremendous experience holding California utilities such as SCE responsible for negligently failing to maintain their electrical equipment and the surrounding vegetation. If you want to recover the maximum amount of financial compensation for your Fairview Fire losses, you need the experience and expertise of Nadrich & Cohen on your side.
Call us, text us from this page, or contact us online today for a free consultation with a California Fairview Fire lawsuit lawyer. We can fight for you and make sure you receive the compensation and justice you deserve.
