Who’s Responsible when that tree falls on your neighbor’s property?

Pretty much every property has some amount of trees on the property, whether its one, or many. These trees offer you shade from some of the hottest suns rays and in many cases add to your property’s curb appeal. But they can also become a huge headache in conflict resolution when they come down on a neighboring property. Trees that are not properly maintained can become diseased, or grow too large or too close to buildings and when presented with powerful gusts of wind and heavy rainfall they can become hazardous to anybody within the vicinity. When you find yourself in the situation where a tree has fallen onto a neighbors property, you may find yourself asking if you are liable for the damages. Although most people may assume that you are responsible for the damages, that may not always be the case.

If you find yourself in this situation, their homeowner that has incurred damages should submit a claim to their homeowners insurance company. It will be at that point, up to the insurance company to take care of the damages. At least, this is the case when a tree falls due to weather or some other force of nature and the tree is of healthy stature. In these cases, the tree itself – and any damages that it may have caused – are not the responsibility of a homeowner. This is only because of natural cause having been the reason that the tree came down. The tree did not come down due to the homeowner’s negligence.

In the case of negligence, a diseased tree that may be dying, or unstable and could have been avoided by the homeowner if they knew about it; then the homeowner could, in fact, be held liable. This may also be a liability of the homeowner if a light storm causes a tree to fall, even if it would not have fallen otherwise. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to take preventative steps to insure that all trees on your property are in good health and are in stable condition.

In other cases, homeowners that may take the task on themselves could also be held responsible if their work causes a tree to fall and damages a neighbors property. To insure that your trees are maintained properly and avoid costly damages to neighboring properties, many times, it is best to have a professional arborist assess the situation and come up with a sound plan for trimming or removal.

In cases where you find that you are liable for the damages to a neighbors property, your personal insurance company is responsible for the damages. Your insuring company is responsible for investigating the claim and to be there in defense of the homeowner if you are to be sued by a neighbor for damages. If you are sued by a neighbor and loose your case, the insuring agency is responsible for the damages up to your policy limit. Anything beyond the policy limit will be left for you (the homeowner) to pay.

In many cases where a tree may come down and cause damage, they fall as a result of natural causes. And due to the reason they fall, a homeowner shouldn’t worry much about having to fork over the money for repairs, or having your insurance company cover the costs. You also shouldn’t have to worry about your premium increasing if you have not been found liable for those damages. Although it is still possible for a neighbor to attempt to sue you for the deductible costs that they may incur in these situations. As with most situations like this, it is always easier and best practice to avoid the possibilities of this happening. The best practice is to take steps in increasing the health of the trees on your property. Have your property inspected annually, and contact your tree service company if you ever notice any types of health issues with one of your trees.

Properly trained arborist can assess a tree’s health and determine if the trees needs trimming, a treatment, or removal. The costs associated with an arborist may seem costly and unnecessary at first glance, but the costs of a damaged property, or better yet a personal injury suit can far exceed that of a property inspection. If you plan on living in your home for many years to come, it only makes sense to have the trees on your property inspected for good health. This can prevent future possible arguments and problems that could damage the relationship between you and your neighbors. To schedule an inspection for your property, feel free to contact us for an estimate, or for more information be sure to consult your insurance agency to discuss damage claims from fallen trees.

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