April 27, 2012
Victims of the recent Lower North Fork Wildfire may receive little to no compensation for their damages. According to 9 News Now, this is due to a state law that caps the amount the state will pay at $600,000 per incident.
The cap was raised to that amount following an accident in the late 1980s in which a boulder crashed into a bus traveling on a highway that should have been closed. At the time, the raise was significant. With inflation of the dollar and medical costs though, the total amount may not cover the damages suffered by the families of the three people who died and the 27 families with damaged homes.
In response to the funding shortage, Republican lawmakers have pushed for a bill to be passed that would allow a panel to ignore the cap and set the amount of damages as they see fit. The funding would then be pulled from several million dollars of the state budget set aside each year for the purpose of settlements.
Other lawmakers disagree with the bill though, and say that changing the cap for a high profile case is unfair to the numerous other injury victims who have suffered because of an accident the state caused and settled.
The Colorado Personal Injury Lawyers with the McDivitt Law Firm hope that the victims of the recent wildfire get what they need to get back on their feet.
