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Meeting these guidelines does not mean you have a valid claim. It means a participating law firm is likely to review it. That firm decides on its own whether to take your case. Some claims are turned down, and some recover nothing. Direct2Attorney cannot judge the legal merits of your case, give legal advice, or file anything for you.
That is the most common reason people do not call — and smoke and renter claims are exactly the ones people talk themselves out of. A free review takes about two minutes and costs nothing.
— Educational
On January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire started in Eaton Canyon and swept into Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre. It killed 19 people, burned about 14,021 acres and destroyed more than 9,400 structures. The Palisades Fire burned the same month. Together they became the costliest disaster of 2025, with insured losses around $40 billion.
The Eaton Fire lawsuits center on Southern California Edison’s equipment. The National Weather Service had warned of extreme fire conditions. Edison shut off power to its distribution lines under its safety shutoff policy but left high-voltage transmission lines through Eaton Canyon energized. Edison later reported a fault on one of those lines around the time the fire began.
Witnesses, photographs and video appear to show flames and electrical arcing at the base of an Edison transmission tower. Joint inspections and CT scans of the removed towers have shown arcing damage. Edison has not admitted responsibility and is contesting the claims, including by arguing that other parties share the blame.
About 2,000 lawsuits representing roughly 30,000 individual plaintiffs are coordinated in Los Angeles Superior Court. Trial groups cover total home loss, smoke and ash damage, business losses, wrongful death, personal injury and tenant claims.
This litigation has hard cut-offs that most other cases do not, and both are inside the next six months.
Edison’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program stops accepting new claims.
California generally allows two years for personal injury and wrongful death claims.
Property damage claims usually get three years, pointing to roughly January 2028. But waiting is its own risk; evidence fades, records get harder to pull, and the first trial is set for January 2027 — cases prepared now are positioned better than cases started at the deadline. Deadlines depend on your individual facts, and only an attorney licensed in California can confirm yours.
— Compensation
If a claim succeeds, compensation is meant to cover what the fire actually took — not just the replacement cost on an insurance form. Here is what these claims typically seek.
— The process
You have already done enough paperwork. This part is short, and you do not need to have your documents ready to start.
Fill out the short form or call. You tell us which fire, what was damaged, whether anyone was hurt, and whether you have dealt with Edison’s program yet. It takes about two minutes and costs nothing.
If your situation fits, we connect you with a participating law firm. That firm looks at your case on its own and decides whether to represent you. If it does, you sign an agreement directly with the firm.
Photos, insurance files, receipts, property records and any medical records. Firms work with appraisers and remediation experts to value what was lost, including damage you may not have counted.
Your case joins the coordinated litigation in Los Angeles Superior Court. Most claims resolve by settlement rather than trial. You are never required to accept an offer you do not want.
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What Direct2Attorney is
A legal marketing and referral service. We check whether your situation matches what participating law firms are looking for, and connect you with one of them if it does.
What Direct2Attorney is not
We are not a law firm. We cannot give you legal advice, represent you, or file anything on your behalf. Only a law firm you sign with can do that.
If you lost a home, a business, your belongings or someone you love in the Eaton Fire or another California wildfire, find out where you stand before the deadlines close. Edison’s program stops taking claims on November 30, 2026, and injury deadlines run to roughly January 2027. The review takes about two minutes and costs nothing.
Participating law firms are generally reviewing claims from people who lost a home, rented a home, owned a business, were injured, or lost a loved one in a wildfire linked to utility equipment. The Eaton Fire of January 2025 is the most active. You do not need to have owned your home, and your house does not need to have burned to the ground for smoke and ash damage to matter.
That is a real decision and it deserves advice before you sign anything. Southern California Edison’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program pays faster, but accepting an offer normally means signing a release that gives up your right to sue. Roughly 38% of people in the program are represented by an attorney, and a survivors group with about 8,500 members has publicly called the payouts inadequate. You can have your claim reviewed for free before deciding.
Two dates matter. Edison’s voluntary compensation program stops accepting claims on November 30, 2026. Separately, California generally allows two years for personal injury and wrongful death claims, which points to roughly January 7, 2027 for the Eaton Fire, and three years for property damage, pointing to roughly January 2028. Deadlines depend on your individual facts and only an attorney licensed in California can confirm yours.
Possibly. Smoke, soot and ash damage claims are part of this litigation and are included in the bellwether trial groups the court selected. Homes that were left standing can still hold contamination in insulation, ductwork, drywall and soil. Many people assume they have no claim because the structure survived, and that assumption can cost them.
Often yes. Insurance frequently does not cover the full loss, and it usually does not pay for things like emotional distress, loss of irreplaceable belongings, or the disruption of being displaced. Your insurer may also have its own claim against the utility. A participating law firm can explain how any recovery would interact with what you have already been paid.
Nothing to ask. The case review is free with no obligation. If a participating law firm takes your case, it will normally work on contingency. That means the fee comes out of a recovery, and no fee is owed if there is no recovery.
No. Direct2Attorney is a legal marketing and referral service, not a law firm. An attorney-client relationship may form only after a participating law firm reviews your information and signs a separate representation agreement with you.
Ask it on the call. The review is free, and there is no obligation to move forward.
— News & updates
Communities Battle Utilities and Insurers for Accountability Ashes of Betrayal California’s wildfires, like the 2025 Eaton Fire that killed 17
