This page is about negligence lawsuits against Southern California Edison and other defendants brought by victims of the LA fires. Our lawyers are actively accepting new cases on behalf of anyone who suffered personal injury, death or major property loss as a result of the LA fires in 2025.
If you believe you may have a claim, call our lawyers at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation online.
The 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires: A Catastrophic Start to the Year
Beginning in the first week of January 2025, Los Angeles and its surrounding regions have faced an unparalleled crisis as a series of 31 wildfires erupted across the area. These fires have devastated communities, fueled by a perfect storm of conditions: extreme drought, critically low humidity, and the relentless power of Santa Ana winds reaching hurricane-like speeds of up to 100 mph. The scale of destruction is harrowing, with lives lost, homes reduced to ash, and communities uprooted.
The Palisades Fire
The Palisades Fire, centered in the Pacific Palisades, has emerged as one of the most devastating blazes in the region. To date, it has scorched nearly 24,000 acres of land, forcing widespread evacuations and causing immense property damage. Entire neighborhoods have been displaced, with families left to wonder if they will have anything to return to once the flames subside.
The Eaton Fire
Another catastrophic blaze, the Eaton Fire in Altadena, has consumed approximately 14,000 acres. Its path of destruction has left a trail of extensive property loss and mandatory evacuations as the fire rapidly spread through the community. The toll on residents has been immense, both emotionally and physically, as they grapple with the sudden upheaval of their lives.
A Grim Toll and Ongoing Danger
As of now, the confirmed death toll from these wildfires stands at 27, with the somber expectation that this number will probably rise, tragically, as rescue and recovery operations continue. The fires have displaced over 200,000 people, forcing them to flee their homes with little more than the essentials they could carry. More than 14,000 structures have been destroyed, including homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure, making these fires some of the most destructive in California’s history.
Two Main Types of Claims
The 2025 LA wildfires have left thousands grappling with personal injury, property destruction, and devastating loss of life. For many victims, one of the first steps toward recovery involves filing insurance claims that hopefully the insurance companies will pay promptly.
Beyond insurance, our lawyers intend to hold government, utility, and commercial entities accountable when their negligence contributes to disasters like the LA wildfires. Investigations into the cause of these fires may reveal the role of Southern California Edison or other entities, and we are committed to pursuing justice on behalf of victims. Should a responsible party be identified, we will aggressively seek compensation for your losses, including emotional distress, evacuation costs, and environmental harm.
Lawsuits Against Southern California Edison
Victims of the LA wildfires may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against Southern California Edison (SCE) and get financial compensation for their damages. Some initial lawsuits have already been filed against SCE.
The LA wildfire lawsuits allege that SCE, one of the biggest utility companies in California, negligently caused the “Eaton Fire” which began in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County. The Eaton Fire began around January 7, 2025 and burned over 14,000 acres, destroyed over 7,000 structures, displaced thousands of residents, and tragically claimed at least 24 lives.
The lawsuits assert that SCE’s electrical equipment played a pivotal role in sparking the fire. Plaintiffs argue that the utility failed to adequately maintain its equipment and did not take proactive measures to de-energize power lines, even as the National Weather Service had issued red flag warnings days in advance. These warnings signaled heightened fire danger due to forecasted high winds, which are known to exacerbate wildfire risks in Southern California. Despite these warnings, SCE allegedly kept several power lines active in the area.
The fire’s point of origin has been traced to a canyon near Eaton Canyon in Altadena, where witnesses reported seeing sparks or small fires near SCE electrical towers. Further complicating matters for SCE, video footage and preliminary data from third-party monitoring systems, like Whisker Labs, indicated unusual electrical activity, such as fault signals, near the time and location the fire began. These details have been cited as evidence of a malfunction or a downed power line contributing to the ignition.
SCE has denied responsibility, claiming their initial inspections of the area and internal records do not show any anomalies or failures that could have started the fire. The utility also stated that it de-energized some power lines in the vicinity prior to the fire and argued that the fire may have been caused by other factors, such as human activity or natural conditions unrelated to their infrastructure. However, these LA fire lawsuits will contend that SCE has a history of similar incidents and that their fire mitigation efforts, including vegetation management and equipment inspections, have been insufficient.
Inverse Condemnation Claims
The lawsuits also invoke California’s inverse condemnation doctrine, a legal principle that holds utility companies strictly liable for wildfire damages caused by their equipment, regardless of negligence. This doctrine has been a point of contention in recent years, as utilities argue it unfairly burdens them with financial liabilities that they claim make wildfire prevention even more difficult. Under this doctrine, SCE could be required to compensate victims for property damage, personal injury, and other losses, even if no negligence is proven.
Investigations into the Eaton Fire are ongoing, led by state and federal agencies, including CAL FIRE and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). These investigations aim to determine the precise ignition source and contributing factors. Findings from these probes are expected to play a critical role in the lawsuits, potentially influencing settlement negotiations or trial outcomes.
The scope of the lawsuits extends beyond direct damages. Plaintiffs seek compensation not only for tangible losses like homes and businesses but also for emotional distress, evacuation costs, and long-term environmental impacts. The lawsuits could also lead to broader discussions about SCE’s corporate responsibility, fire prevention strategies, and the balance between energy infrastructure reliability and wildfire safety in California’s increasingly fire-prone landscape.
Prior California Wildfire Lawsuits Against PG&E
This will not be the first time a California utility company will be involved in mass tort litigation related to wildfires. These lawsuits will be very similar to those filed against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) after the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California.
That fire resulted in 85 fatalities and billions of dollars in property damage. PG&E faced accusations of gross negligence for failing to properly maintain and upgrade its power delivery system, ultimately leading to substantial settlement payouts. The scope of the Camp Fire pales in comparison to the magnitude of this disaster.
The potential liability facing SCE is evidenced by the financial market’s reaction to the recent lawsuits. SCE’s stock price has plummeted over the last week and various. Several financial firms have issued warnings about the potential risk that SCE is facing and have downgraded their stock ratings.
Maui Wildfires
The current LA wildfire lawsuits are also nearly identical to lawsuits brought against Hawaiian Electric following the wildfires that devastated the island of Maui in August 2023. Hawaii Electric, the primary electric utility company in Hawaii, was named as a defendant in several class action lawsuits as well as many individual lawsuits alleging injury, death and property destruction.
The allegations against Hawaiian Electric (“HE”) in those lawsuits were basically the same as those being made against SCE in the LA wildfire lawsuits. HE was accused of negligence for failing to having a power shutoff plan in place for fire prevention. The lawsuits claimed that a power shutoff plan would have prevented downed power lines from igniting fires when they fell.
The HE lawsuits also asserted claims of inverse condemnation. This legal claim is somewhat similar to eminent domain and it allows victims of wildfires to hold utility companies liable without necessarily proving negligence.
Potential Settlement Value of LA Wildfire Lawsuits
It is obviously very early to estimate the potential settlement value of the LA wildfire lawsuits with any degree of certainty. It is early. This tragedy is still unfolding. But our lawyers can give a very speculative estimate based on settlements in other wildfire lawsuits against utilities. Historical settlement outcomes in similar cases provide a foundation for speculative estimates (although the unique circumstances of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires suggest that any potential settlement payouts could far exceed previous benchmarks).
In 2024, Hawaiian Electric and other defendants reached a $4.09 billion settlement fund to compensate victims of the devastating 2023 Maui wildfires. Similarly, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) paid roughly twice that amount—approximately $8 billion—for claims related to the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, which was one of the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history at the time. These cases demonstrate the significant financial liability utilities face when their equipment is found to have contributed to wildfire ignition.
Of course this is in Hawaii. This is LA. These wildfires in 2025 have caused devastation on a far greater scale, with over 14,000 structures destroyed, 27 confirmed fatalities, and over 200,000 residents displaced. This unprecedented level of destruction suggests that the settlement compensation payout for these lawsuits will dwarf previous wildfire cases. If liability claims against Southern California Edison (SCE) are substantiated, settlement amounts could easily surpass $10 billion, possibly making this the largest utility wildfire settlement in U.S. history.
Based on these prior examples, we can reasonably predict that any settlement payout in the LA wildfires lawsuits will be significantly bigger simply because the scale of damage and devastation is much greater in the LA wildfires. Assuming the liability claims against SCE hold up, we could easily see a settlement compensation payout of $10 billion or more.
The specific settlement payouts each individual plaintiff might receive will depend heavily on the nature and extent of their damages. Settlement compensation will, almost certainly, be calculated based largely on these three factors:
- Property Loss: Plaintiffs who lost homes, businesses, or other property may receive compensation proportional to the appraised value of their losses.
- Personal Injury or Wrongful Death: Victims who suffered injuries or lost loved ones may receive higher settlement amounts, reflecting both economic damages (e.g., medical expenses, lost income) and non-economic damages (e.g., pain and suffering, emotional distress).
- Evacuation Costs and Disruption: Compensation may also be available for the financial burden of temporary housing, lost wages, and other expenses incurred during prolonged evacuations.
Given the variability in damages, per-person settlement payouts could range widely—from tens of thousands of dollars for minor property damage claims to millions of dollars for families affected by wrongful deaths or total property destruction.
Getting an LA Wildfire Lawyer
If you believe you may have a viable LA wildfire lawsuit—either for property damage, personal injury, or wrongful death—call our lawyers at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation online.