Damage to Property
Although wildfires pose a serious threat to the health and wellness of those living in affected areas, most wildfire claims involve property damage. Between 2009 and 2018, wildfires burned over 7 million acres and tens of thousands of structures. Since then, we’ve had record-breaking wildfire years, with wildfires destroying over 3,000 structures in 2021 alone. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute suggests that over 2 million properties in California are at risk of wildfire damage.
Wildfires can damage a wide variety of properties, including:
- Homes
- Businesses
- Sheds and barns
- Garages
- Ponds and pools
- Landscaping and fences
- Vehicles and boats
- Personal property (e.g., electronics, jewelry, furniture, etc.)
- Family heirlooms
- Farmland and farm equipment
- Ranching equipment
- Documents
- Clothing
It’s not only flames that can cause damage to properties. Smoke, ash, and water can all cause long-term damage. Poor air quality that follows wildfires can create hidden health damages.
You didn’t deserve to have your shelter, safe place, or personal belongings because of someone’s negilgence.
Chances are, the wildfire that destroyed your home was preventable. The party whose negligence caused the fire is responsible for those damages. After wildfires, we help our clients identify who was responsible for the fire that destroyed their homes, businesses and personal property and get our clients the compensation they deserve.
Interruption of Business
Evacuating from a wildfire can last months. For business owners in areas devastated by wildfires, this means a significant loss of income. Even if you avoid health or property damages, you may still lose income from a lack of business operations.
Wildfire damages can force you to undergo lengthy repairs, and many businesses spend months or even years rebuilding after a California wildfire.
You may recover these losses from the negligent party.
Has your business faced any of the following due to a California wildfire?
- Losses in net income
- Costs associated with fire cleanup
- Costs associated with hiring professionals to help mitigate wildfire damages
- Shutdowns due to wildfires
- Relocation expenses
These are all expenses the party whose negligence started the wildfire—not you—caused. We’ve worked with business owners across California to help them recover after wildfires, and it’s taught us one thing:
Business losses due to wildfires can be catastrophic.
Business losses affect you, your family, and your employees. As business owners and attorneys who are active members of the community, we know how hard you work. Watching it all slip away due to a preventable wildfire is something no one should ever have to do
Smoke-related and Fire-related Injuries
Each year, California residents deal with permanent injuries and illnesses due to wildfires. First-, second-, and third-degree burns have an instant effect on your life, and extreme heat can cause long-term eye, nose, ear, and throat damage. However, it’s not just the flames that can cause harm.
Wildfire smoke is dangerous, carcinogenic, and deadly. Inhaling wildfire smoke causes immediate and long-term health issues for those involved in California wildfires. In fact, according to the American Lung Association, strong evidence links wildfire smoke exposure to premature death.
Damages to your health from California wildfires can have immense costs, even years down the line. At Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel, we’ve seen first-hand the health effects that wildfires can have on victims, and we know your costs go far beyond your initial medical expenses.
Our expert team of attorneys assesses personal injury damages from a holistic view. We take into account the long-term health consequences and down-the-line expenses, and we aggressively pursue compensation for those who have suffered from fire-related injuries.
We can’t take away the pain the wildfire caused you. However, we can get you the compensation you deserve and need so that you can focus on recovering from your injuries.
Loss of a Loved One
No one should lose a loved one to wildfires. Unfortunately, preventable fires caused by human negligence kill people every year.
The last thing any person ever wants to experience is filing a wrongful death lawsuit. If you find yourself in this situation, we’re here to help. Not only are we among the most experienced California wildfire law firms, but our attorneys have the compassion to help you through this traumatic period and the determination to litigate your case with purpose.
Emotional Damages
According to the American Psychological Association, the emotional damages stemming from wildfires can disrupt your everyday life. Those affected may suffer from depression, anxiety, or anger after a wildfire. For some, these feelings become lifelong emotional burdens that require treatment, therapy, or medication.
If another party caused the wildfire, you don’t deserve to struggle through your emotional trauma alone. We can’t undo what happened, but we can help you get the compensation you need to get use best-in-class professionals to help you overcome your emotional trauma.
What Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel Can Do For You
Wildfire claims are complex and require a coordinated team of experienced attorneys partnered with medical professionals, investigators, and experts across various fields. Unfortunately, the goal of many personal injury firms is to get quick compensation for their own benefit and at your expense.
We’re not most law firms. Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel has helped thousands of California residents recover over $600 million in damages. We approach every claim as a unique case.
Our attorneys investigate every case, work with you person-to-person, and attempt to recover the full damages associated with your wildfire losses. We’re not just attorneys—we’re people who have been personally affected by wildfires. Attorneys and staff in our firm have lost their homes and been forced to evacuate because of preventable wildfires. Wildfires affect all of us here, and our priority is to help our clients rebuild their lives after tragedy strikes in our community.
Your experience was real. Your losses are real. We never treat people like settlement mills do.
We can never take away the devastation you experienced. Instead, we focus on what we can do. For over 40 years, we have helped our clients identify the at-fault party, recover damages, and begin the process of rebuilding.
Here’s how:
We Investigate Every Fire
Finding the cause of wildfires isn’t easy, but that has never stopped us. After every wildfire, we relentlessly pursue the facts, and our world-class California wildfire attorneys work diligently to uncover the source.
We have helped victims of nearly every major wildfire in California. From hosting town-hall meetings for those devastated by the Dixie Fire to actively pursuing the party responsible for the Mill Fire, Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel is at the forefront of wildfire litigation in California.
Our top-notch investigators pour over the evidence and conduct their own comprehensive wildfire investigations. Once we identify the at-fault party, we build a strong legal case against them while providing the calm, competent, but aggressive representation to right the wrong done to you.
We Help People and Families Get Compensation
We treat every case as unique. After all, your experiences are wholly unique to you. Our experienced litigators can sit down with you to determine your damages and discuss the facts specific to your case.
Once we have a clear understanding of your situation, we relentlessly pursue a fair resolution. We’re trial lawyers and are not afraid to go to court. Insurance companies, large organizations, and corporate legal teams know we’re not afraid to take them to trial. We routinely go to court against corporations and public entities, and we’ll do it again.
Our client-centric settlement process is aimed at helping you heal and recover. We advance all of the costs, which means we don’t send you any bills for our work. We never ask you to pay any out-of-pocket expenses for our services. Instead, we receive a percentage of the total settlement if, and only if, we obtain fair compensation for you.
Every consultation is free. Every case is unique. We treat every person as an individual.
We’re not here for a settlement. We’re here to recover the compensation you need to rebuild your life. Our results speak for themselves.
We Advocate For Safer Conditions and Safer Communities
Wildfire cases aren’t just about helping individuals heal or financial recovery—we want to build safer communities. No one should go through the pain and suffering that a negligent person or corporation put you through. We want to hold anyone who may have caused the fire accountable and prevent these tragedies from happening again.
Our law firm has helped grieving families battle against major corporations, resulting in one of the world’s largest tire recalls. We’ve gone up against Fortune 500 companies, massive public entities, and we’ve won. We’re never scared to aggressively pursue those responsible for the wildfires that devastate our state and local communities.
We want to help you rebuild your life while preventing others from having to rebuild in the first place. Holding the negligent party responsible can prevent them from doing it again.
We Represent Families Who Suffered From Wildfires
With over $600 million recovered for our clients, we have the experience you need to get the compensation you deserve. If one of the many wildfires that have broken out in California has affected you, we are here to help.
Your consultation is free, and you won’t pay a dime unless we. Contact us at (530) 241-0290 or online for a free case evaluation
