Council Tree Branch Falls Onto Car

neilmcl

Johno100 wrote: »

Seriously!

Regardless of if there was pre-existing damage being dealt with or it was routine tree pruning/pollarding work, a competent tree surgeon should have completed a risk assessment before starting work and identified any potential risks to third party property or to people, and made sure they were addressed.

You, as a number of posters so far, have assumed the tree surgeon caused the damage. As the post above mine suggested he may have been there after the fact and as a result of the branch coming down to inspect the tree for further danger and to make safe if necessary.

And yes, my remark about not parking under trees if can be avoided was serious. At the very least you risk you car getting covered in sap and bird droppings, at worst the potential is always there, particularly this time of year for full branches to come down.

Car_54

bigadaj wrote: »

There's no statutory duty to inspect trees on highways, it's not like potholes.

Possibly not, but the council do have a duty to ensure the trees do not present a danger. That is difficult/impossible to achieve without regular inspections.

kmb500

Really don't see how the council can be at fault, given that they don't maintain trees.

Aylesbury_Duck

kmb500 wrote: »

Really don't see how the council can be at fault, given that they don't maintain trees.

What was a council-contracted tree surgeon doing up in the tree then? He was either carrying out preventative or reactive maintenance.

Mercdriver

kmb500 wrote: »

Really don't see how the council can be at fault, given that they don't maintain trees.

They have a duty to maintain the highway. Part of that is to ensure there is nothing that will cause danger to users of said highway. They maintain trees in order to prevent them falling and creating a hazard.

neilmcl

kmb500 wrote: »

Really don't see how the council can be at fault, given that they don't maintain trees.

Oh dear, you really have no clue. Who do you think "maintains" all the roadside trees, bushes, grass verges etc, fairies? :rotfl:

Car_54

neilmcl wrote: »

Oh dear, you really have no clue. Who do you think "maintains" all the roadside trees, bushes, grass verges etc, fairies? :rotfl:

Not to mention all the other trees on council-owned land - parks, open spaces, etc.

Johno100

And see what hapoens when councils neglect their duties and tragedy strikes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2129673.stm

Mercdriver

neilmcl wrote: »

Oh dear, you really have no clue. Who do you think "maintains" all the roadside trees, bushes, grass verges etc, fairies? :rotfl:

That list of things that KMB has no experience of is growing all the time :rotfl:

bigadaj

Mercdriver wrote: »

They have a duty to maintain the highway. Part of that is to ensure there is nothing that will cause danger to users of said highway. They maintain trees in order to prevent them falling and creating a hazard.

No they don't.

This is fairly basic stuff, people really need to understand what insurance is for and how it is applied.