Has your home been damaged in a wildfire? Were you or someone you love harmed by wildfires or their aftermath? If so, then Belal Hamideh can help. He and his team of California wildfire attorneys can help you to receive the compensation that you deserve. Whether it’s from third parties, dealing with insurance companies, or others, he and his team will represent you aggressively, working as hard as possible to make certain you receive everything you should so that you can rebuild.
As of this writing, the most recent wildfire is in Laguna Niguel. Unfortunately, wildfires are all too common and this will not be the last. When your home, property, person, or anything else is damaged, you very well could claim damages for it. For a free consultation with our team, you can reach us here.
How Can California Wildfire Attorneys Help You?
The damage from California wildfires can affect many people. However, every wildfire lawsuit is different. With so much damage, with so many parties involved, these cases can be incredibly complex. Indeed, that’s one of the ways our California wildfire attorneys can help. From the beginning through the successful completion, we can be by your side every step of the way. Through that, we’re able to help you to avoid potential pitfalls and get what you deserve.
For one, we can help you to determine exactly which damages you should claim. Then, we can work to make sure that the parties who are responsible for your damage are held accountable. Once we’ve filed your suit, we can represent you as aggressively as possible. Your case can settle at any time before trial.
However, should the insurance company choose to go to trial, we relish any opportunity to represent our clients in court. No matter what it takes, we’re proud to use our know-how and resources to pursue justice on your behalf.
Who is Liable for Wildfire Damages in California?
Whenever a wildfire strikes, most tend to just assume it’s a natural disaster. Whether it’s an Act of God, global warming, or just living in California, people assume that it was unavoidable. However, so often that’s not the case. Human negligence and recklessness cause far more wildfires than most realize. If someone was responsible for the wildfire that caused you harm, we can work to find the party responsible, sue them, and get you what you deserve.
Many wildfires are caused by electric companies or utility companies. Even their small mistakes can cause massive wildfires. Often, corporate error or malfeasance leads to wildfires, as these are often caused by private enterprises or product manufacturers. Sometimes, they’re even caused by the government.
The actions of individuals can lead to wildfires. Yes, arson occurs. But, negligent actions lead to wildfires even more than malicious ones. Unattended campfires, trash fires, debris, vehicles that aren’t well-maintained, misused equipment, even fireworks and discarded cigarette butts – those can all lead to wildfires. If you’re harmed by a fire, we can help.
What Can I Do If My Insurance Refuses to Cover Wildfire Damages?
You pay the insurance company to be there for you in the case of a disaster, in case of emergency. When a wildfire happens, you expect the insurance company to be there for you. However, all too often, insurance companies do everything they can to keep from giving you what they said they would. Insurance companies deny many valid claims, in hopes that the person will give up. If your claim is denied, reach out to us.
The truth is, unfortunately, that insurance companies have many ways of acting in bad faith even beyond simply denying a claim. For example, they might just flat-out fail to respond to your claim. Or, they may undervalue it, hoping that you’ll take less than you deserve. A favored trick of theirs: denying processing your claim unreasonably in hopes that you’ll forget, give up, and so forth.
We’ve even seen insurance companies misinterpret a victim’s policy coverage. The insurance adjuster’s job is to pay you the least amount possible or nothing at all to settle your fire damage claim.
Over the years, we’ve helped many who were denied by insurance companies to get the compensation that they deserve. We can take your case and then we can take it to the insurance company, fighting back against their bad faith.
What Can I Sue For After a Wildfire?
What you can sue for after a wildfire depends greatly on what was damaged by the wildfire. For example, if you were injured by the wildfire, then you can absolutely sue for medical expenses. That includes all medical expenses, doctor’s visits, medication, therapy, rehab, and the like. Additionally, if you’re unable to work for any period of time, you’ll be able to sue for the income you lost. Should you be unable to return to work, you’ll be able to sue for the loss of earning ability, too. You can even sue for the pain and suffering that you’ve had to go through.
In the event that your property was damaged after a wildfire, then you can sue for the damage that occurred to your property. This is just true whether it was your home, business, and more. Additionally, if it was your business that was damaged, then you can sue for the damage to your equipment, as well as for the disruption of your business.
If it was your home that was damaged, then you can sue for temporary housing costs, the cost of relocation, and more. In fact, you can sue for the income that you lost due to not being able to work (and time lost having to deal with the aftermath of the fire) as well as any living expenses, and other considerations. We’ve helped clients to sue for emotional distress as well.
Unfortunately, in some wildfires, people parish. If someone you love was killed in a wildfire, you can sue for wrongful death as well if the death was caused by the negligence of a third party or occurred on the job.
If you’re harmed in some way by a wildfire, you deserve maximum compensation. Our team can sit down with you and go over all of the different kinds of damage that you can sue for.
Wrongful Death Due to Wildfire
Every death is tragic. Death can be that much more tragic, that much more difficult to get over if it was due to the negligence or recklessness of another party. If someone you love were killed in a wildfire, you may be eligible to sue the responsible parties for the wrongful death of a loved one. We can help here as well.
No amount of compensation can make up for the loss of a loved one. Compensation from a wrongful death case can pay for funeral expenses, medical expenses, and other costs that you may have to deal with in the wake of your loved one’s passing from the wrongful death. While this can never make up for what you’ve lost, it can provide you a foundation from which to start the next phase of your life.
Only certain parties are able to file a wrongful death case in California. These cases do have a statute of limitations of two years from the date of death here in California. If you believe there is any chance that you might have a wrongful death case, we strongly recommend that you reach out to our wrongful death lawyer team so that we can help.
Hazard Insurance Disputes
So many people, whether they’re aware of it or not, pay hazard insurance. Then, in the event of a wildfire, the idea is that the insurance company will pay the victim. However, all too often, the insurance company will do everything they can to get out of paying what they’re supposed to. There are common hazard insurance disputes. If you believe that your insurance company is operating in bad faith, we can help.
Insurance companies have many tactics to try to pay less than they should. Sometimes, they discriminate, by withholding or denying coverage based on someone’s age, sex, race, nationality, or something similar. They may misinterpret what the claims say, or even claim that the incident is, for one reason or another, outside of your hazard insurance. Potentially, they could even claim that the damage was your fault.
If you believe that the insurance company is denying your claim fraudulently or is even acting in bad faith, reach out to us. We may be in a position to help.
How Do Wildfire Lawsuits Work in California?
A wildfire may damage your property, your business, your person, and so forth. You deserve to recover damages. The only way to recover those damages is to file a lawsuit. In the event of a wildfire, where many people are suing one or multiple parties, these suits are usually condensed into one mass action. However, every victim has to provide how they or their business were affected by the wildfire. That’s where we come in.
Whether it was you, your home, your family, your business, or anything else, we can prove that you were hurt by the fire. Then, we can represent you aggressively from the very beginning through the successful completion.
How Much Time Do I Have to Start my Claim?
There’s no one set deadline here. It depends on your insurance claim, of course. But, it also depends upon what you’re seeking compensation for. For example, in terms of some compensation, you may have a deadline as soon as one year. If a government entity caused the fire, you must file your claim within 6 months of the fire. Regardless, you’re best served by reaching out to an experienced California wildfire attorney as soon as possible. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we can get to work on your case, and the sooner you can receive what you deserve.
How Long Does it Take to Settle a Wildfire Damage Case?
Again, there is no one consistent answer here. Every case is different and every wildfire is different. We do everything in our power to expedite the process. Some cases are resolved very quickly whereas others can go on for years.
That said, the most common wildfire claims tend to take anywhere from a few months to several years. Your case, however, may take a different length of time than that. Remember: when you hire us, you don’t pay us hourly. Instead, all of our compensation comes out of your eventual settlement.
California Wildfire Attorneys You Can Trust
If you or your property were harmed in a wildfire, you very well may deserve compensation for it. We understand that, in the aftermath of a wildfire, the very last thing you may want to do is to reach out to an attorney. However, we can help you with so much of the recovery and rebuilding process. The compensation we can help you to receive can pay for medical expenses, property damage, and so much more. Hablamos Espanol.