California Wildfires Insurance Claim Law Firm
Few know more than Richard deSaulles all of the pain and heartache that arise when your home is damaged by fire. Several years ago, Richard’s family endured several months having to live in a trailer parked on the front lawn while his family’s house, which had been ravaged by fire, was rebuilt. Unfortunately, 2008 has been a monumental year for wildfires in California. On June 20, 2008, a severe thunderstorm system moved through northern and central California resulting in over 6,000 total lightning strikes in more than 26 counties. The overwhelming number of lightning strikes, along with record dry conditions sparked over two thousand lightning fires. A combination of aggressive firefighting efforts from state and federal firefighters from across the state, nation and world, strategically tackled the suppression of these incidents. This year, 2,096 fires have burned nearly 1.2 million acres in California. The majority of these fires have been contained; however, these fires destroyed over 500 structures and have taken at least 15 lives. The 2008 California wildfires have damaged or destroyed thousands of homes throughout the state. Some of these wildfires included:
- Shasta-Trinity Lightning Complex Fire (Shasta & Trinity Counties: over 86,500 acres burned)
- Butte Lightning Complex Fire (Butte County: over 59,400 acres burned)
- Mendocino Lightning Complex Fire (Mendocino County: over 54,800 acres burned)
- Telegraph Fire (Mariposa County: over 34,000 acres burned)
- Freeway Complex Fire (Orange and Riverside Counties: over 30,000 acres burned)
- Tehama-Glenn Lightning Complex Fire (Tehama and Glenn Counties: over 22,900 acres burned)
- Walker Fire (Lake County: over 14,500 acres burned)
- Sesnon Fire (Los Angeles County: over 14,000 acres burned)
- Corral Fire (Lassen and Modoc Counties: over 12,400 acres burned)
- Sayre Fire (Los Angeles County: over 11,000 acres burned)
- Marek Fire (Los Angeles County: over 4,800 acres burned)
- Juliet Fire (San Diego County: over 4,000 acres burned)
- Wild Fire (Napa and Solano Counties: over 4,000 acres burned)
- Oliver Fire (Mariposa County: over 2,700 acres burned)
- Craig Fire (Butte County: over 2,000 acres burned)
- Tea Fire (Santa Barbara County: over 1,900 acres burned)
- Whitehurst & Hummingbird Fires (Santa Clara County: over 990 acres burned)
- Gladding Fire (Placer County: over 900 acres burned)
- Deer Fire (Napa County: over 300 acres burned)
- El Cerritos Fire (San Luis Obispo County: over 60 acres burned)
Fire damage to your home or property dramatically affects the lives of you and your family. At the Law Offices of Richard deSaulles, we understand that you need your fire insurance claim to be paid quickly and fully so you can start cleaning up and rebuilding. In addition, assistance is often needed navigating the state and local requirements regarding rebuilding after a wildfire. Often, families are far too busy dealing with the emotional distress of a fire loss to take control of putting together a complete and accurate insurance claim in compliance with their fire insurance policy while trying to navigate all of the beaurocratic hurdles before rebuilding can commence.
The Law Offices of Richard deSaulles has experience battling with insurance companies in order to ensure that our clients recover each and every cent to which they are entitled under their insurance policy. While many people try their best to handle their insurance claim without the services of an attorney, we usually suggest they should do what we tell all of our family members when they suffer a significant fire loss covered by an insurance policy- hire a lawyer.
Oftentimes, claimants unfamiliar with the process find that all or some of their claim has been denied under their insurance policy, resulting in added stress and delays. Occasionally, homeowners also are unknowingly denied payments to which they are entitled. At the Law Offices of Richard deSaulles, we have extensive experience dealing with insurers in California. We are dedicated to helping you get the money you need and deserve under your policy, especially if your insurance company is not paying your legitimate fire insurance claim.
Making Your Insurance Company Live up to the Promises In Your Policy
Fire insurance provides benefits if your home is seriously damaged or destroyed by fire. When your insurance company and insurance agent sold you the policy, they made a promise to provide benefits if you needed them. The Law Offices of Richard deSaulles can help you with your claim, help you appeal a denied claim, or, if necessary, take the matter to Court. We handle serious fire insurance claims throughout California.
Fire insurance claims can be difficult to evaluate because the amounts of damage and loss can be hard to determine. Homeowners often have not kept an inventory of all their belongings. However, our firm can help you work with staff or experts to reconstruct what was there before the fire, in order to enable us to accurately evaluate your loss and provide the insurer with the information it needs to pay your claim.
Denied Claims Resulting from Bad Faith
Insurance companies and agents must be held accountable for fraud and wrongful denial of claims. If necessary, the Law Offices of Richard deSaulles can pursue a bad faith insurance claim against the company if it has unlawfully denied your claim.
Contact The Law Offices of Richard deSaulles
If a California wildfire has caused you to suffer a loss, and you have insurance coverage in place, the Law Offices of Richard deSaulles can help ensure that you obtain the maximum recovery to which you are entitled. Our firm offers free consultations and works on a contingency fee basis, which means we don't get paid unless you get paid. To date, the Insurance Claim team of the Law Offices of Richard deSaulles has received the firm’s most substantial gifts (above and beyond our fees) from our satisfied insurance claim clients. Even after our firm was paid in full for our services, some of our insurance claim clients nevertheless decided to reward our firm for its hard work and significant results.
If you or a member of your family has suffered a wildfire loss that you believe should be covered under an insurance policy, the Law Offices of Richard deSaulles may be able to help. Please feel free to either fill out a free online case evaluation or call today to speak to an attorney.
What if I Cannot Afford To Hire An Attorney?
Most of our clients do not have the thousands of dollars needed to retain an attorney and litigate their case. The Law Offices of Richard deSaulles regularly takes cases on a contingency basis. For cases taken on a contingency basis, this means:
- You do not have to pay anything to hire our firm to represent you;
- Our contingency fee is based on a reasonable percentage of the amount we obtain for you;
- We will never settle your case without your authorization; and
- If there is no recovery in your case, you do not owe us a fee.
For those clients who prefer to pay an hourly rate, our firm is happy to discuss such an arrangement. Either way, we will make sure that the terms of the representation are agreed upon before initiating representation.
