Parents Get Help after Daughters Killed in Rental Home Fire

The article below was written by attorney Fred Pritzker, who helped the grieving parents of two daughters killed in a rental home fire. Although an attorney at a different law firm had not offered any hope, when Fred took the case, he built a winning case and obtained a settlement for the family. More importantly, he gave the parents answers and justice.

In the early morning hours of August 19, 2001, a fire engulfed the second story of a single-family rental home located in a small Midwestern town. Two sisters, ages six and four, were killed. Their mother and step-father, who were asleep in their first-floor bedroom, suffered injuries while attempting to rescue them.

The State Fire Marshal investigated the fire and listed its cause as “undetermined.” Without conducting an investigation, the attorney initially hired by the family told the grieving parents that it would be a tough case because the Fire Marshal could not identify the cause and origin of the fire and because the family lit candles while the house power was off. Moreover, smoke detectors did not go off and it was likely, the attorney told them, that they would be blamed for that as well.

Desperate for answers, the parents turned to our law firm after reading about our expertise in fire and explosion cases. We immediately dispatched a fire investigator to the scene who was denied access by the landlord. Because the property was soon to be demolished, we obtained a court order which cleared the way for an inspection by our electrical engineer. She determined that a power surge occurred when electricity was restored which overwhelmed the antiquated wiring in the home’s attic and resulted in the smoldering fire that caused the girls’ deaths.

Hi, I am attorney Fred Pritzker. The investigative findings of my team were so clear and so compelling that the homeowner’s insurance company reversed its initial claim denial and agreed to pay the couple the full policy limits. Years later, the girls’ mother sent me this note:

Mr. Pritzker. You represented my husband and me in a wrongful death case involving our two little girls. I wanted to say Thank You. I gave birth to our first child and son together in 2006. He was born 2 days prior to the fifth anniversary of the girls’ deaths. In 2008, we had another boy. Nothing ever takes the place of our girls but I do believe that they helped us bring in the boys to our lives. You helped us to understand the reasons the girls passed by hiring your electrical engineer and where our original attorney placed blame on us, you helped us to know it wasn’t our fault. Thank you! Because of your help I have volunteered my traumatic experience and speak publicly wherever I can. Thank you again.