Our clients—a grandmother and her young granddaughter—were the victims of a devastating apartment fire. While caring for her granddaughter, a fire broke out in the grandmother’s unit. Tragically, none of the smoke detectors activated. Expert testimony and witness statements later confirmed that the devices were not functioning at the time.
The granddaughter sadly died of smoke inhalation. The grandmother survived but suffered severe burns and permanent lung damage.
Attorney Todd Korb pursued claims against the landlord and their insurer. During mediation, the insurance company initially offered just $250,000, arguing they had no prior notice of faulty smoke detectors and pointing to a recent “inspection” by the city. However, we discovered that the city’s inspection was merely a self-reported form from the landlord. Our client confirmed that the critical smoke detector had no battery—removed years earlier by the landlord and never replaced. In addition, many units still had outdated 9-volt batteries instead of the code-required lithium batteries.
Faced with this evidence, the insurance company ultimately tendered its $2 million policy limit. Our clients—the grandmother and the child’s father—recovered approximately $1.6 million. The child’s mother, represented by separate counsel, received a separate recovery.
