Your Rights After a Wildfire in New Mexico
In the aftermath of a wildfire, families are left with loss and hard questions — including whether it could have been prevented. When utility equipment is linked to a fire, you may have the right to hold the utility accountable for the full scope of your losses.
A claim against the utility
When a utility's equipment or negligence contributed to a fire, it can be responsible for the harm — physical injuries, health effects, destroyed property, lost income, and the trauma of displacement. This is a claim against the utility itself, separate from any claim on your own insurance policy.
Different paths for injury and property
How responsibility is established can differ: injury claims generally rest on the utility's negligence, while in some states property damage can be recovered from a utility even without proven negligence. A review can explain which paths apply to your losses.
How we help
We investigate how the fire started, document the full scope of your losses, and pursue the utility with care. The review is free and confidential. Se habla español.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a claim against the utility for a wildfire?
You may, where the utility's equipment or negligence contributed to the fire. Such a claim can cover injuries, property loss, lost income, and displacement — and it is separate from any claim on your own insurance.
How long do I have to act?
Deadlines depend on the state and the specific fire, and special claims processes sometimes apply. Because they can be complex and time-sensitive, it is worth a confidential conversation soon.
New Mexico law — what people ask
How long do I have to file an injury claim in New Mexico?
Generally three years — longer than California or Arizona allow. But if a government entity is involved, the Tort Claims Act requires written notice within 90 days, which is the shortest deadline in New Mexico injury law and can pass while someone is still in hospital.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault in New Mexico?
Yes. New Mexico follows pure comparative negligence, so your share of fault reduces the recovery rather than barring it, with no cutoff percentage. The rule came from the state’s courts rather than its legislature.
Does New Mexico cap what I can recover?
It depends entirely on who caused the harm, and this is where New Mexico is genuinely different. An ordinary injury claim is not capped. Medical-malpractice claims run into a tiered cap under the Medical Malpractice Act, and claims against government entities run into separate Tort Claims Act limits. Three regimes, three answers.
What if more than one party was responsible?
New Mexico largely does away with joint and several liability, so each defendant is generally responsible for its own share. There are meaningful exceptions — intentional torts, vicarious liability, and products in the stream of commerce among them.
The driver who hit me had no insurance. What now?
This happens more here than in most states. Your own uninsured or underinsured coverage is the route, and New Mexico courts have been comparatively protective of policyholders on stacking — combining the limits of more than one policy or vehicle where premiums were paid for each.
Is a medical claim treated differently in New Mexico?
Substantially. Claims against providers qualified under the Medical Malpractice Act pass through a review commission before suit, are governed by a statute of repose rather than an ordinary limitations period, and are subject to the tiered caps with a compensation fund behind them.
Injury law in New Mexico
New Mexico injury law gives families a longer window and some distinctive rules.
- Filing deadline: New Mexico gives you longer than most states — generally three years from the injury — with a 90-day notice deadline when a government entity is involved.
- Fault: New Mexico follows pure comparative negligence, so sharing some of the blame reduces your recovery rather than ending your claim.
- Damage caps: An ordinary New Mexico injury case is not capped; medical-malpractice and government claims have their own separate limits.
- Multiple defendants: New Mexico generally applies several liability, with some exceptions.
Related topics
California injury law
This is general information about New Mexico injury law, not legal advice. Every case is different.
Did a utility-caused wildfire harm your family?
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