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When facing an accident, injury, or loss, understanding how to recover damages is crucial – especially when it comes to a fire. This is especially true in cases where a pre-fixed claims fund is involved—whether the funds are the result of a global settlement, bankruptcy, or federal funding.

For example, in the Fire Victims Trust—which was a $13.5 billion settlement fund established for victims of the 2015 Butte, 2017 NorCal, and 2018 Camp Fires after PG&E filed for bankruptcy—our legal team at Singleton Schreiber represented approximately 6,000 claimants. Through our zealous advocacy and deep understanding of fire damages, our team was able to increase our clients awards by an average of 69% above the original offer issued by the Trust.

Our law firm considers numerous factors while working with field experts including real and pre-fire property values, income loss, and land erosion to name a few. These factors are presented in accurate and detailed damage reports and provide realistic and specific values based on our economic impact research in working tandem with experts.

For example, one of our clients lost a substantial antique record and book collection. The Fire Victims Trust originally awarded $0. However, with the help of our dedicated in-house team of personal property experts, we were able to increase the award to over $400,000.

Another client—who sadly lost their home in the NorCal Fire—was originally offered just north of $1 million. However, our firm was able to increase this offer to over $10 million by submitting detailed expert reports documenting supporting their damages.

Similarly, we were able to increase another total loss victim’s award from $688,000 to over $4.5 million. And the list goes on.

No amount of money can replace the loss of life of a loved one. However, it can lessen the burdens placed on the surviving loved ones. For one of our personal injury clients who also lost a loved one in the fire, we were able to double his personal award, resulting in an offer over $18,000,000.

These are just a few of the countless examples of why it is vital to have legal representation familiar with fire litigation and can advocate for the damages you are entitled to under the law.

At Singleton Schreiber, our team of over 70 attorneys and over 300 staff help our clients navigate their journey to justice. While this is a process you can navigate on your own, we’ve seen it be beneficial for clients to partner with our team to recover as much as possible for their loss. We have helped more than 26,000 victims of utility and government started fires navigate their recovery process and have recovered more than $2.5 billion for our clients.