If a neighbors tree falls over on your property and crushes your cars are they responsible for damages ?

Question

If a neighbors tree falls over on your property and crushes your cars are they responsible for damages ?

Answer 1

Depends on the condition of the tree and what caused it to fall.

If the tree was healthy - and a storm/weather caused it to fall -- then they are NOT responsible for the damage to your car.

If the tree was dead/dying and fell - then they ARE responsible.

It all comes down to negligence. What did the neighbor do / or not do - that caused the damage.

If the tree is healthy -the neighbor did nothing wrong. It's not negligent to own a tree.

If the tree is dead/dying - then the neighbor is negligent because he had a responsibility to take the dead/dying tree down because it is no a hazard. He did not take the dead/dying tree down so he IS negligent.

I deal with this issue a lot.  You will find - that other insurance professionals will tell you the same thing that I did. Listen to them. This is a well litigated issue.

Answer 2

As others have said, if the tree was either diseased, dead or known to be a hazard then your neighbours would be responsible. If the weather caused a healthy tree to fall down then it would be considered an act of G-D.

Your insurers would have to show to the neighbour's insurers that they were negligent.

Answer 3

Yup! They are 100% liable. Talk to them about it. If they don't want to take the responsibility, then you can sue them.

Answer 4

In Missouri you would be responsible - I saw a news report on this some time ago.

In it, they reported you would have to PROVE negligence - and that is extremely difficult to do - so says news Ch 4 STL

Answer 5

yes, it's their job to take care of the tree and take it down if it's likely to fall.

Answer 6

No, they are not responsible.  Lawnboy and MSDA summed it up very well.

If you have comprehensive coverage on your vehicle, you need to file a claim w/ your own insurance company.

Answer 7

If the tree falls as a result of the weather, NO they are not responsible, they didn't cause the weather.  You would have to have comprehensive (fire, theft, vandalism, falling objects, glass, etc) also known as "other than collision" for your cars to be covered.  If you didn't purchase this coverage, you have to pay for the damages out of pocket.  Same difference if it was YOUR tree that fell on the cars.  You are the one that chose your coverage which means you are responsible to pay for any damages that you didn't buy coverage for.

Now, on the other hand, if the tree was rotten & the neighbor KNEW about it (you or someone else would have had to send a certified letter to them stating their tree was bad & in danger of falling & be able to prove it) & they did nothing to fix the problem, namely, take the tree down, then they could be liable for your damages.  This is hard to prove.  Even if the tree was rotten on the inside, if the outside looked good & there were leaves on the tree, no one would know that the tree was bad.

Answer 8

Yes.

Answer 9

yeah it has to be on there land and not on yours. You also cannot be the one sawing the tree down onto your house. I think it depends on the situation, most of the time yes like if a storm hit and it knocked it over. Watch the beginning scene of the Mist, same situation happens.

Answer 10

Yes, it is their responsibility. Take pictures if the trees have not already been moved.  

Get their homeowners insurance information, company and policy number.  The neighbors have to call in the claim and once they have established the claim, you can contact the company to file for your damages.

Now it's not unusual for insurance companies to drag their feet.......  Alternative plan is to call your auto insurance company, tell them what happened and open a claim thru them to get your vehicles repaired/replaced etc....  The your auto insurance company will file suit against the neighbor and their insurance company for repayment of the damages.  

Depending on the state you live in, since the neighbor's are at fault here, you may be entitled to a rental car while your car is being repaired or for a reasonable amount of time while your vehicle is being replaced.  Your insurance company/agent would be a good source of that information.....

Answer 11

It depends on the reason the tree fell. Insurance companies recognize "act of God" and don't pay these claims. In good weather if the tree is diseased and/or not trimmed properly they may be considered negligent and their insurance will have to pay.

Answer 12

Only if the tree was diseased, dead or a potential hazard.  If wind blew a healthy tree down, your neighbor cannot be held liable.  They were not negligent.  You would need to prove the tree was a hazard and they failed to undertake the necessary precautions to remedy.  

If you cannot do this, then you need to file a comprehensive claim under your own auto policy.

Answer 13

If the tree fell due to the neighbors negligence then yes, if it fell and the reason it fell wasn't their fault, ei a storm.  If it fell because it was diseased but they couldn't tell by looking at the outside then no, there was no way for them to know.  However if it was diseased and obvious, then yes, but it was their fault because they then failed to maintain it properly.  However I do believe that depending on your state law it may have specific laws on this and could be their fault regardless of if they were negligent or not.  I would look that up.