At around 11:30PM on January 23rd, 2007 as I was typing on my PC the lights began to flicker and my computer began turning on and off. The lights then became extremely bright followed by a booms outside then the lights dimmed so low it looked as if they were about to burn out. The house phone was on began to cut out and made a loud screeching sound and thensilence.These strange events lasted for nearly 15 minutes when a knock at the front door got my attention. It was a fireman informing me to shut off my computer if I had one because of electrical problems that were occurring in the area. I immediately did so.It was not until the morning I discovered that my two TV's, all three cordless phones, a microwave, two alarm clocks, my entire computer, VCR/DVD, DVR/Cable Box had all been destroyed due to the massive power surge they endured. After surveying each and every unit I learned that all appliances in every apartment was damaged or destroyed.Who is to blame for this?
Getting your self an attorney is all you can do to start.
In many states, the local electrical utility is responsible for delivering proper power to their customers and when they don't, they can be required to replace any damaged equipment. They get to sue people who cause them problems (like an accident that damages their equipment, which then damaged your equipment). You should contact your local utility to see if they will voluntarily replace your losses, and if not, then contact your state power utility regulators to see if they can be compelled to. You, as a public utilities customer, should not be not required to foresee all of the possible power problems that might occur -- that's the utility's job. You probably ought to get a copy of any police or fire report of the incident that led to the fireman knocking on your door. That would probably help your case when you file a claim with the utility or state regulators.
