Robinson Firm Files First Wrongful Death Lawsuit In Camp Fire

PR Newswire

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Nov. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Mark P. Robinson, Jr., founding partner of the Newport Beach Robinson Firm, announced he filed today his first wrongful death lawsuit in the devastating Butte County, CA "Camp Fire."

The complaint, filed in San Francisco Superior Court Wednesday morning, seeks compensatory and punitive damages from defendant Pacific Gas and Electric Company, citing the company's "inexcusable" safety record and failure to keep the public safe.

"PG&E's reckless behavior and disregard for public safety has to stop," Robinson said. "We've seen this company involved in a series of fires over more than three decades of devastation."

The Robinson Firm represents the family of Gerald "Jerry" Rodrigues of Paradise, CA. Rodrigues was a retired US Navy sailor who served in the Vietnam War. He had been listed among the hundreds missing in the fire. Investigators discovered his remains last week and notified his daughter, Neva.

"I was devastated to receive a phone call telling me my father didn't make it out of the fire," she said. "He served our country and lived a good life. He didn't deserve this."

"I would ask the public and media to please respect our privacy as my family begins this painful grieving process, she added.

The complaint chronicles a scathing history of safety failures dating back as far as 1981 including gas explosions and forest fires in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Butte County, San Bruno, Rancho Cordova, Mendocino and Carmel.

"These incidents keep happening and keep taking the lives of loved ones like Mr. Rodrigues," Robinson said. "These are people's parents, children and spouses; there's no reason for them to die."

The complaint cites PG&E's spotty maintenance practice as a critical factor, saying the company employed a 'run to failure' approach to maintenance.

According to the complaint, PG&E reported an outage at the Caribou-Palermo transmission line in Butte County, near the fire's suspected origin shortly before the fire broke out. In December 2012, these same transmission lines fell in a winter storm. The company later observed damage to a transmission tower in the area of the fire, the complaint says.

The lawsuit is the first of many the Robinson Firm will file on behalf of Camp Fire victims who lost lives and property in the fire. The Camp Fire is now California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire with 79 people confirmed killed and hundreds of people still missing.

The Robinson Firm is one of the nation's leading personal injury and product liability law firms. The firm's lawyers have represented thousands of plaintiffs against insurance companies, product manufacturers, and businesses.

Contact: Mark P. Robinson Jr.
Email: campfire@robinsonfirm.com
Website: buttecountyfire.robinsonfirm.com

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