Mike Danko Talks with Kron On About PG&E Priorities & the States New Norm
PG&E continues to prioritize profits instead of the thousands of victims impacted by the many major wildfires like the 2018 Camp Fire & 2019 Kincade Fire sparked by PG&E thanks to faulty equipment and poor maintenance. Northern California Wildfire Lawyer Mike Danko speaks with Kron On regarding PG&E’s priorities and the new norm California residents now face.
In a recent interview with Kron On, Mike Danko expressed his concern that even after PG&E had to file for bankruptcy due to owing billions in damages to California residents, PG&E continues to prioritize its investors over the vast number of wildfire victims.
PG&E has asked the court repeatably for permission to pay its executives millions of dollars in bonuses. When PG&E wants to make payments, it certainly can. It’s (PG&E) is very loose when it comes to paying executives and I think maybe it needs to be a little tighter there, and a little more generous in paying out the people who it has hurt and that includes the municipalities. PG&E can go to court and ask the permission to make those payments and I don’t see any reason it would not get that permission.
When PG&E was asked by the court how long it would take to strengthen its infrastructure, PG&E gave a estimate of about 10 years. Mike Danko also voiced his concern that PG&E stated blackouts leaving thousands of residents without electricity for days were the new “norm” for the state until PG&E could fix its infrastructure. Not only are residents having to live without electricity for days, but they still have to pay for the service PG&E is now forced to prevent them from using.
The situation that we’re in now, is the result of years and years of misconduct on the part of PG&E taking money from one purpose and paying out in bonuses. It’s going to take at least 10 years to dig ourselves out of that because the work has not been done, and it cannot be corrected overnight. Right now the only thing we can do to protect ourselves is to shut off the power. So again, the question is whose going to pay for it?
When asked about what the public can do to get through the yearly blackouts, Mike Danko told Kron On the solution is to have backup generators which is very expensive and a step backwards in the standard of living for California residents.
About Northern California Fire Lawyers
Northern California Fire Lawyers is a team of more than 30 attorneys from a coalition of three Northern California law firms: Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle, Danko Meredith and Gibbs Law Group. Collectively, our fire lawyers have more experience investigating and bringing claims against PG&E than any law firm in California. Our attorneys have been appointed by California judges to leadership positions in some of the largest fire and disaster cases, including the Butte Fire Cases, 2017 PG&E Fire Cases, and San Bruno Explosion lawsuits.
We have earned hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients, and members of our team have been honored for their work with numerous awards, including “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year,” “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Trial Lawyer of the Year,” and “Top Women Lawyers in Northern California,” among others.