Chain | Cohn | Clark helps family of boy severely burned from downed power line

In June 2012, David N. was watering his yard in Ridgecrest when he heard a sizzle and a pop sound. A raven had landed on a power line, which then failed and caused the electrical wire to fall on a fence three houses away. As the fence caught fire, David ran to try to put it out, not knowing a power line was down in the area. 

While focused on fighting the fire, David didn’t notice that his son, 3 years old at the time, followed close behind. When he noticed his boy, David ran to move him away, but it was too late. The boy tripped over the electrical wire, which caused an electric jolt that burned both of his legs. 

The treatment that followed was long and painful for the boy, his mother Challice said. Chain | Cohn | Clark, which represented the family, was there to support them, while they stayed at the Grossman Burn Center at San Joaquin Community Hospital and the courtroom.   

Chain | Cohn | Clark senior partner Matthew C. Clark explained in easily understandable way to David and Challice, who had never been involved in the legal matters, how the legal process would work, Challice said. Clark gave them enough information to know what to expect and to make decisions, she said.

Plus, the family could focus on their son’s recovery without having to worry about their personal injury case, she said.

“We felt we could trust (Matt Clark) and the law firm,” Challice said. “It’s important to have a really good relationship with your lawyer. When we discussed the case, it was like chatting with a friend who was helping you through your life. Having that atmosphere really takes off a lot of stress.”

Recently, Clark and Chain | Cohn | Clark helped settle the family’s lawsuit, which argued that a connector on the power line failed when the raven landed near it. The failure caused the wire to fall to the ground, putting residents there in danger.

Earlier this week, the family received our flier in the mail, which came with their AltaOne Federal Credit Union account statement. The boy, now 5, noticed Matthew Clark’s picture on the flier, and asked his mom if he could make it into a sticker.

“He’s now walking around with Mr. Clark’s photo on his chest,” Challice said. “He thinks he’s pretty cool now.”

She added: “Matt just treated us like family, and we appreciate that.”