PacifiCorp Fire Victim Who Leapt in River Awarded $9 Million

Blooomberg (January 23, 2024) – A jury ordered a Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co. unit to pay nine homeowners at least $62 million for failing to prevent some Oregon wildfires in 2020, including $9 million for a man who jumped off a cliff into a river to escape the flames that destroyed his home.

Adding to the almost $90 million tab the company faced after an earlier jury found it grossly negligent in June, Tuesday’s verdict in Portland state court capped the first of three “mini-trials” designed to assess how much the largest grid operator in the western US will ultimately have to pay as many as 5,000 victims… Read more here.