damages News

PG&E Rate Hike in California Aimed at Easing Wildfire Risk

Pacific Gas & Electric’s household customers will be hit with an average rate increase of 8% to help the once-bankrupt utility pay for improvements designed to reduce the risks that its outdated equipment will ignite deadly wildfires in its Northern …

California Dive Boat Captain Indicted in Fire That Killed 34

The captain of a scuba diving boat that caught fire and sank off the coast of California last year, killing 34 people who were trapped below deck, was indicted Tuesday on federal manslaughter charges for one of the deadliest maritime …

Wyoming Teen Centers Sued over Alleged Abuse

A lawsuit filed by 25 former residents of two Wyoming teen centers accuses the facilities of human trafficking and abuse. The complaint alleges Trinity Teen Solutions and Triangle Cross Boys Ranch of Clark profited from unpaid labor and the abusive …

California County Paying $10M After Shooting, Paralyzing Man

A Northern California county has agreed to pay nearly $10 million to settle a lawsuit by a Silicon Valley software engineer who was having a mental health crisis when a deputy shot him, paralyzing him from the waist down. Placer …

Washington Man Shot in Leg During Raid Gets $1.25M Settlement

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office in Washington has agreed to pay $1.25 million to a man who was shot in the knee by a deputy during a SWAT team raid at a residence in Bonney Lake. Jerad Wooten, 37, suffered …

Montana Nursing Home Lawsuit Adding More Claims

A lawsuit against a long-term care facility in Whitefish, Mont., has been amended to add claims that it was part of a multi-state network of facilities that enriched corporate owners while residents received negligent care. The lawsuit was initially filed …

Colorado Outfitter Sues Former Guide, Claims ‘Trade Secrets’

Stephen Bass approached Andy Sovick last year with a plan for writing a guide to snowmobile-access skiing around one of the most popular backcountry destinations in Colorado: Buffalo Pass near Steamboat Springs. Bass, a ski patroller at Utah’s Powder Mountain …

UC San Diego Engineers Experimenting in Space to Help Prevent Mudslides

What can the International Space Station teach us about mudslides here on Earth? Here is the connection: UC San Diego engineers are trying to better understand the role gravity plays in mudslides. That is why in 18 months, they will …

Several Northern California Agencies Suing PG&E Over 2019 Wildfire

Sonoma County and several Northern California agencies sued Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Tuesday over damage caused by a wildfire that burned a large swath of land last year and caused nearly 100,000 people to flee. The Kincade Fire …

California Couple Charged with Insurance Fraud After 4-Car Collision

Jamil Reinery Flores, 39, and Nelly Patricia Turcios, 32, a married couple from Fullerton, Calif., were charged with multiple felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting when a car accident occurred in order to receive an undeserved insurance payout. …