Dealing With the Utility & Its Process in California
A utility responsible for a wildfire is a large, well-resourced company, and a major fire may involve a special claims process, a settlement fund, or complex litigation. How your claim is handled — and whether it captures your full losses — matters a great deal.
These processes are complex
Depending on the fire, recovery may run through litigation, a court-supervised process, or a claims fund, each with its own rules and deadlines. Navigating it correctly, and making sure your full losses are documented and submitted properly, is essential to a fair recovery.
Do not go it alone against a utility
You are generally not required to accept an early or standardized offer, and these often do not reflect the full, individual scope of a family's losses. Having your own advocate helps ensure your claim is complete and fairly valued.
How we help
We identify the right process, document your full losses, and pursue the utility on your behalf. The review is free and confidential. Se habla español.
Frequently asked questions
The utility set up a claims process — should I just use that?
It may be one path, but a standardized process can undervalue an individual family's full losses. It is worth having your situation reviewed so your claim is complete and fairly valued before you accept anything.
California law — what people ask
How long do I have to file an injury claim in California?
Generally two years from the date you were hurt. If a government entity is involved — a city vehicle, a public road, a public hospital — you usually have to present a formal claim to that agency within roughly six months before you can sue at all, which catches people out far more often than the two-year date.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault in California?
Yes. California uses pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than barred — even if your share turns out to be the larger one. There is no cutoff percentage that ends a claim here.
Does California cap what I can recover?
Not in an ordinary injury case. Medical-malpractice claims are the main exception, where non-economic damages are limited by a cap that steps up over time. For most claims — car crashes, falls, defective products — there is no statutory ceiling.
What if more than one person was responsible?
California splits the analysis: defendants can be jointly responsible for your economic losses such as medical bills and lost income, while non-economic damages like pain and suffering are apportioned to each defendant by its own share of fault.
The driver who hit me had no insurance. What now?
Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is usually the answer, and it commonly applies to hit-and-run collisions as well. Check every policy in the household, not only the one covering the car you were in.
Will the jury hear that my health insurance paid my bills?
Generally not. California follows the collateral source rule, so a wrongdoer does not get credit for insurance you paid for. How your medical damages are measured is a separate and often contested question.
Injury law in California
California injury law shapes your case in a few specific ways worth knowing early.
- Filing deadline: You generally have two years from the date of the injury to file — and only about six months to put a government entity on notice before you can sue.
- Fault: California follows pure comparative negligence, so you can still recover even if you were partly — or mostly — at fault, with your recovery reduced by your share of the blame.
- Damage caps: An ordinary California injury case has no cap on damages; medical-malpractice claims are the main exception.
- Uninsured drivers: California sets minimum auto-insurance limits and uninsured/underinsured-motorist rules that affect what coverage is available.
California injury law
This is general information about California injury law, not legal advice. Every case is different.
Did a utility-caused wildfire harm your family?
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