Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

The general rule is that you are entitled to recover for direct damages [property damage, physical injuries, loss of wages because too injured to work] and foreseeeable damages of a more indrect nature [cost of rescheduling plane fare for a vacation]. To put a reasonable limit on damages and avoid a lengthier litigation process, teh court put a limit on what damages can be recovered. It is not a bright line between what can and can not be recovered. Some damages are in a gray area on uncertainity. Unfortunately, most of your damages fall within that gray area or in the no recovery section. A decrease in the value of your home, much like the decrease in value of a car though fully repaired after an accident, clearly is not recoverable, although PG&E has stated it will provide some additional compensation for homeowners .Your risk in losing your job seems too remote to me.

You need to contact PG&E to find out what damages they are willing to compensate you for. Then push your insurace company for al the benefits you can get. It is better for you to get paid by your insurance company and then collect fro the same damage from PG&E. There probably is a subrogation clause in your insurance contract that allows them to get back what some othe entity has also paid you for, but you can workout a discount perhaps [argue common fund doctrine of your having created the sum of money anf they did nothing so you should be compensated for the work you did that benefited them]. Read some Nolo Press books on tort litigation and what you can expect to recover.

Try to separate your damages into clear, smaller groupings so that they can reject several damage "units" without rejecting them all. If all of that is not as successful as you want, consider hiring an attorney to write a demand letter. I have done that for several people on Lawguru and often a letter from an attorney gets more action than from the injured party [as I am retired, I charge only $100 per hour].

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I do not share Mr. Sher's pessimistic view of the recoverability of your damages. I think there is a good chance of recovering all of your loses, including compensation for what you went through during the disaster. I do agree that simultaneously maximizing your insurance recovery and seeking recovery of your damages from PG&E is a good idea. He is correct that some of PG&E's payment might be owed to reimburse the insurance carrier, but there are ways to minimize that, both as Mr. Shers has described and additional strategies in how a settlement with PG&E is structured.

I have facilities in San Mateo and San Francisco to meet with you for a no-obligation initial consultation. I have worked on engineering and infrastructure construction cases, including catestrophic failure litigation, for over twenty years. Give me a call or send me an email if you would like to set up an appointment.

I have represented property owners before against municipalities, and have litigated against cities and counties regarding property and high-profile matters. I have seen the incident on the news, but am not aware of which attorneys are representing whom and whet the status of cases are. Since there are a lot of facts in common, I am surprised an attorney has not offered to help you with your claims. My understanding is that there was a lot of blame due to ignored safety concerns, and I imagine you should be entitled to recover the dollar amount of much or all of the damages you can prove. You must act quickly though - there are short deadlines for filing claims against public entities. Send me an email if I may help.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

http://www.danielbakondi.com

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