Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal?
It’s hard to know who to believe when it comes to who is responsible for fallen tree removal. If you ask ten different people you might even get more than 5 different answers. Some say a homeowner, some say a property owner, some say an insurance company, and others will even suggest it’s a city or town’s responsibility to remove a fallen tree. That’s why we decided to step in and try to help. Hopefully, this will clear up some misconceptions about the responsible party for tree removal but also keep in mind there are always exceptions to what we write here, and of course, a court of law might see things differently too.
Why Do Trees Fall?
Before getting into who is responsible for fallen tree removal, it’s best to start with some of the reasons why trees fall in the first place. To be clear, most trees do not usually just fall over on their own. They need some sort of catalyst to get them into a condition where it’s hard for them to stay upright. The biggest cause of trees falling in high winds. Old and diseased trees are especially vulnerable to going to the ground when extreme gusts of wind hit them. After that, saturated root balls are the most common cause of trees coming down in someone’s yard. When you have both high winds and saturated ground in an area, treefall can be very significant. Other common causes of trees falling include lightning strikes and vehicle mishaps.
Primary Responsibility
In a vast majority of the cases when determining who is responsible for fallen tree removal, it will fall on the property owner. This is true even if a tree falls completely onto a neighbor’s property. So, to be even more specific, it’s the property owner of the yard where the tree stood before it fell. This is even proven to hold up in a court of law the majority of the time.
Secondary Responsibility
There are cases where a tree falling does not become the responsibility of the property owner where the tree previously stood. So then, who is responsible for fallen tree removal in these other cases. Probably it will fall on the property owner’s insurance company if they have good coverage. It might even be covered under a neighbors’ insurance policy if a property owner has a good relationship with them and is willing to pay for that neighbor’s deductible.
In rare cases where a tree falls into a common area of a community, there may be a clause in the bi-laws that says the community funds will take care of removing that tree. Of course, if two people take a tree removal matter to court, the court’s decision will then dictate who will pay to have a fallen tree removed.
Who to Call for Tree Removal?
Now that you have a better idea of who is responsible for fallen tree removal, it’s important to know how you go about getting a fallen tree removed. First of all, this is probably not a good task to take on yourself unless you really know what you are doing and have access to the proper equipment. Using equipment such as chainsaws can be very dangerous for those who have not been trained on how to work with them safely. That’s why it’s best to call a professional tree service in your area if you ever need to remove a tree. They have the equipment and the knowhow to get tree removal done safely and efficiently. It’s just not worth risking injury and spending hours working on a tree removal project when it can be done professionally for an affordable price.
Port Orange Tree Removal Services
If you are in the Port Orange area or in surrounding communities such as Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach, DeLand, and many others, Aardvark Tree Service is the company to call. Whether you are dealing with a fallen tree or you are simply looking for tree removal Port Orange services, we are here to help. Call us at 386-310-8022 to get a free quote.