Fallen tree...who pays for damages ...(case of neglect as well)

atenolol

I know that this issue has been discussed previously, however there is a difference in this case.
During the recent storm, a huge tree from neighbouring school fell in our backgarden smashing the fence (we share a fence).
Under the category of 'God's act' this damage is not payable by the school insurance.
However, roughly 2 years back a huge tree branch had fallen in our backgarden, The fallen branch was clearly dead, so was the tree since several relatively small branches have fallen before and after that. We told the school to get rid of the tree, instead they selected to cut selected chopped big branches which were overhanging, hiring a tree surgeon.
Now during the storm, the same tree has smashed through the fence with our neighbour

My question - Does this damage still fall under category of 'Act of God' or does it fall under 'Negligence done by the school' or the combination ?

Please can you advise

FreeBear

Any idea what species the tree is ?

Beech is notorious for dropping limbs and should be regularly monitored. If it is dropping dead branches, I suspect it is diseased and should have been cut down a long time ago. "Act of god" or not, the school is still responsible for any damage caused (in my opinion).

lisyloo

@atenolol
as you know the school are not liable if there was no negligence but are if there was.
the fact you told them to do something 2 years ago shows that they were aware of the issue, but also at that time dealt with it with a professional.
so we know they were aware.
have they maintained the tree at all since?

I don’t think we can say as we don’t know the condition of the tree or what the school has done since.
if the damage is expensive you neighbour should use their insurance and provide all info to the insurer, they could also request the insurer reclaim from the school.
it would then be up to the insurer to decide whether it’s worth reclaiming.
the insurer will have the knowledge and access to resources to decide but I would certainly request it.

freebear is incorrect about the school being liable irrespective or circumstances.
no one is legally liable for “acts of good”

if the fence is a lower amount the neighbour could use the small claims court and provide evidence of the dead state of the tree (photos) and your evidence as well.
if they have legal insurance they should consult that and could claim direct rather than going via insurance.

For me the cost of damage would dictate which way to go, but I always have legal insurance. These days I recommend getting a stand-alone policy (about £15) just in case you need to sue your house insurer (which you cannot do with their own policy ).

atenolol

Thanks you both of you for your comments.

elsien

Does the tree have a tree preservation order on it? When an oak in my workplace was dying in stages the council would only give permission for removal of dead branches not the whole tree.
It took a couple of years of calling them out to re-inspect before they finally agreed the whole thing could come down. 

Just flagging that up in case the school did do everything by the book.