How will this stand on insurance paying out

[spuddog0507]

Hi all went to collect some timber from a tree surgeon the other day , when we where loading up he was telling me about a incident that happened last week, they where taking a large dead beech tree down at a private house , they took all the top off then lowered the bigger limbs down when they got to the main trunk they decided to fell it on to lawn on some tyres, pull rope attatched at the top front cut in then back cut left a nice hinge about 3" and tree was about 30" so hinge was correct size, a couple of wedges in back cut to stop it sitting back and nipping saw when they where pulling / rocking it to get it over the hinge severed itself and tree didnt go where it was supposed to go, it went about 90 degrees to the right on to a rockery, as the tree hit the rockery it launched 2 rocks of the rockery 1 about 10kg which hit the customers garage door caving it in about 12-15" on looking at the photos of this its a new door, the 2nd rock about 20kg was launched across the drive through a close boarded fence and hit next doors 4x4 on there drive the damage to the 4x4 (mercedes) i would say is 2 doors and may be getting the door post jigged out then painting, His worry now is will his PL insurance pay out ? his tickets cs30/31 38 39 NO cs32 , and i offered him a cs32 course for £360 12 monthes ago and he said he did,nt need it and it was expensive, he has now asked me my thoughts and i replied if you had a crash in a car and you did,nt have a driving licence would your insurance  pay out ??? i dought it  i all so said if he had done the cs32 there would be no problem, but as the insurance investigation goes on it is looking more like they wont be paying out, the garage door wont be an issue but the repairs to the 17 plate 4x4 will be a bit more that 6 or 700 pounds, now i am not a climber or domestic tree surgeon my work is in forestry with a bit of domestic work, alot of you lads on here are climbers/ tree surgeons how do you see this unfortunate event and for those of you who are doing the same thing as above with the same tickets just have a think and get the correct certification; i will post a update on this when we learn more , and i have been asked to put this on here as the person in question is on this site and a few of you from around the northwest will know him so to save him the embarassment he has asked me to post this, all views and comments gladly welcome being good or bad,

[monkeybusiness]

I would think that his insurance will have to pay out to the affected 3rd parties. Renewal time will be painful though... 

[swinny]

Rocking any stem.... bad news. School boy error. 

 

Hope he gets sorted and it doesnt go the other way for him!

 

Also i quite often take the middle out of the hinge on larger tree’s dependant on job situation of course just to pull it over easier.

Edited July 20, 2018 by swinny

[Benny4817]

i agree rocking any tree you are felling is never a good idea a steady pull is always the way or you risk snap hinge off and as soemone else has said possibly remove the middle of the hinge  BUT its one decision you make on site re how to get down  could not a tracked chipper or a vehicle have pulled it even with a re direct on it no rocking then good solid pull

 

[Benny4817]

44 minutes ago, monkeybusiness said:

I would think that his insurance will have to pay out to the affected 3rd parties. Renewal time will be painful though... 

i think the insurance may not pay out due to Qulifications and work method etc and then it will be down to the Affected parties to take a private prousecution against contractor   insurances companies insure any one and dont ask for quals to begin with its only when it goes wrong thy ask and look and think mmm how can we not pay out ?   feel empathy for contractor but thats how i think it will go   love to hear in the end how this is resolved

 

[spuddog0507]

35 minutes ago, swinny said:

Rocking any stem.... bad news. School boy error. 

 

Hope he gets sorted and it doesnt go the other way for him!

 

Also i quite often take the middle out of the hinge on larger tree’s dependant on job situation of course just to pull it over easier.

school boy error yes 

this guy worked with me a few years ago felling dead pytothera infected larch and i did my best to tell him dead trees are a nightmare to fell by the book take your hinge down to half of what it should be as there is not as much weight in dead timber , and the heart cut i explained many times to him but sorry to say this he always thought he was mr big with his 880,

[Mick Dempsey]

If it’s not too big a bill I think they’ll just write the chèque.

 

I had a couple of claims late 90s early 00s, they never asked for qualifications.

 

Put in a claim and hope for the best.

[monkeybusiness]

The insurance co have provided cover for 3rd parties, they are under obligation to pay out to those affected 3rd parties. The insurance company may subsequently seek damages from the insured if they see fit. 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

1 hour ago, Mick Dempsey said:

If it’s not too big a bill I think they’ll just write the chèque.

I bumped the rear ¼ of the Hilux a while back, off side bumper and rear panel folded up like a tin can.  It was only a very slow impact reversing into a drive and touched the wall.  Repairs just shy £3k!  Had I still had the 110 it would have bounced off but that's progress!  

 

20kg rock in the side of a 17 plate Merc 4x4....  That'll be eye-watering!

 

Agree above ☝︎insurance pay out to affected 3rd parties then consider recovery options.

[Mark Bolam]

I can’t see how they wouldn’t pay out.

They have probably never heard of CS32, and I bet they didn’t ask for it when they took the premium.

It’s only a certificate of competence, not a legal requirement.