bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 1:51:10 GMT -5
I received a phone call yesterday {Thursday, July 4th} at around 4:30pm from a man who, until quite recently, has been my next-door neighbor for the past 6 years. I know him as Mister and even though I would never dare ask his age, his service in the Vietnam War suggests that he is at least 70 years old but 80 seems more likely. During the call, Mister said that a tree had just fallen from his other neighbor's yard and he was now without electricity. I arrived at Mister's house about 10 minutes later and realized that the tree had also landed on his car. Since the neighbor was not home at the time, I took as many pictures as possible and waited for someone from the electric company to arrive. After the electric company worker gave me the go-ahead, I proceeded to cut the tree with my chainsaw for the next couple of hours. The absent neighbor arrived home as I was finishing up and was quite unreasonable about the entire situation. At first he was insistent that there was no need to contact his homeowner's insurance, twice stating that he was not responsible for "an act of God." After informing him that his tone~demeanor toward my friend was completely unacceptable {in terms more suited for someone of his intelligence level}, I explained that allowing a woodpecker to continuously peck away at an already compromised tree was "an act of negligent a^^hole" rather than "an act of God" and that the afore mentioned should retrieve~produce his insurance information posthaste. Every attempt to contact an actual human representative of the neighbor's insurance company has been futile to this point, which is not surprising given the Independence Day holiday, but I believe that the neighbor is responsible~liable for the damage caused by his tree. Not having any experience with a situation like this, I am interested in any feedback that you are willing to give.  |
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 1:52:35 GMT -5
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 1:53:55 GMT -5
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Post by urbino on Jul 6, 2024 1:59:09 GMT -5
What a mess. Hate it for your neighbor. Good of you to help out. Did they at least get his electricity working again?
I don't know what people think insurance policies are for, if not events exactly like this. Of course, the guy probably just doesn't want to be bothered for 15 seconds.
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Post by oldcajun123 on Jul 6, 2024 6:16:26 GMT -5
 Good on you for helping the man. That tree should have been removed as it was a menace to life and property, I hate lawsuits but that’s a good one waiting for a lawyer. Again good on you.
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Post by rdpipes on Jul 6, 2024 6:31:32 GMT -5
I had a oak hanging over the garage portion of the house I rent that had died several months back. After watching the another dead oak in the front yard drop branches at least once a month keeping me busy with cutting and clean up I notified the landlord and sent him photos of the dead tree hanging over the house and close to my shop ta boot, stating that I was notifying him of the situation for insurance purposes (mine) if the tree fell and went through the top of the garage and on top my truck. He didn't waste time getting it cut down.
But before hand I had told him of the tree a month earlier and he sorta grumbled about the expense and I never heard back from him.
It pays to know the law and how it works, way too many people get run over by people and insurance companies nowadays and sadly police departments want little to do with such things anymore. You neglect a tree on your property and let it die or be damaged to the point it threatens someone others property or even life you're RESPONSIBLE! no is, ands or buts about it.
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 10:57:43 GMT -5
What a mess. Hate it for your neighbor. Good of you to help out. Did they at least get his electricity working again? I don't know what people think insurance policies are for, if not events exactly like this. Of course, the guy probably just doesn't want to be bothered for 15 seconds. TNMP arrived within an hour, which was fairly surprising considering it was Independence Day, and confirmed that the electricity was isolated from the ^power line. They had the electricity back on before I had even finished with the tree. ^The power line can be seen pretty clearly in the third picture. |
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 11:02:43 GMT -5
Good on you for helping the man. That tree should have been removed as it was a menace to life and property, I hate lawsuits but that’s a good one waiting for a lawyer. Again good on you. I definitely do not see this as "an act of God." There was a literal ring of woodpecker holes encircling the tree, right at the point where it snapped. |
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 11:13:59 GMT -5
You neglect a tree on your property and let it die or be damaged to the point it threatens someone others property or even life you're RESPONSIBLE! no is, ands or buts about it. That is how I see it but morality~legality can be two different things. One thing is certain, the timing of this incident has guaranteed that my friend will spend the next couple of days worrying~wondering. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 6, 2024 11:18:24 GMT -5
A tornado dropped our perfectly good 87 year old oak on our neighbors house. It was strictly their insurance problem as an act of God. I don't know about a dead tree like that. The insurance would probably just fix the house. Anything to be claimed against the owner of the tree would probably be a civil court matter. The rotten tree I just took out wasn't a danger to anything but a person mowing under it. $1500 was a bargain.
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 11:38:52 GMT -5
A tornado dropped our perfectly good 87 year old oak on our neighbors house. That is more in line with my understanding of "an act of God." |
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Post by rdpipes on Jul 6, 2024 12:10:06 GMT -5
A tornado dropped our perfectly good 87 year old oak on our neighbors house. It was strictly their insurance problem as an act of God. I don't know about a dead tree like that. The insurance would probably just fix the house. Anything to be claimed against the owner of the tree would probably be a civil court matter. The rotten tree I just took out wasn't a danger to anything but a person mowing under it. $1500 was a bargain. Yeah, perfectly sound tree blowing over because of, wind, water soaked ground, tornado is all acts of God, I know I just asked him.  A tree that the property owner can plainly see that it is dead, rotten, or branches swinging after a wind storm, etc. is responsible. It's his tree just as is if he loans you his car and he knows there's problems with it, brakes, broken wheel lugs, etc. and you crash it, he's responsible whether you get hurt or not. If you do get injured, he owes for that also. I'm no lawyer but, lets just say I've had my fair share of dealings with the court system.  |
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Post by toshtego on Jul 6, 2024 13:15:27 GMT -5
Bill, your friend should contact his own insurance company and make a claim. THEY will handle the neighbor's company. Believe me, that other company will respond to that. If your friend is not insured then an attorney should be contacted and the attorney can go after the neighbor's insurance. It is NOT up too your neighbor to decide what is a act of God and what is an insured risk. Do not contact him any further, actions on your part can muddle the matter.
Thank you for helping this old boy. I am sure he appreciates it.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 6, 2024 13:20:11 GMT -5
A tornado dropped our perfectly good 87 year old oak on our neighbors house. That is more in line with my understanding of "an act of God." Unless they have a Rider covering Tornadoes. Acts of God such as winds, earthquakes, floods are all insurable. |
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Post by CrustyCat on Jul 6, 2024 13:24:39 GMT -5
I agree with what John said above. Have your neighbor contact his insurance company and let them fight it out.
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Post by turbocat on Jul 6, 2024 13:56:19 GMT -5
Bill, your friend should contact his own insurance company and make a claim. THEY will handle the neighbor's company. Believe me, that other company will respond to that. If your friend is not insured then an attorney should be contacted and the attorney can go after the neighbor's insurance. It is NOT up too your neighbor to decide what is an act of God and what is an insured risk. Do not contact him any further, actions on your part can muddle the matter. Thank you for helping this old boy. I am sure he appreciates it. Spot on. |
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Post by trailboss on Jul 6, 2024 14:06:42 GMT -5
Bill, your friend should contact his own insurance company and make a claim. THEY will handle the neighbor's company. Believe me, that other company will respond to that. If your friend is not insured then an attorney should be contacted and the attorney can go after the neighbor's insurance. It is NOT up too your neighbor to decide what is an act of God and what is an insured risk. Do not contact him any further, actions on your part can muddle the matter. Thank you for helping this old boy. I am sure he appreciates it. Spot on. Spot on+1 |
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 15:52:44 GMT -5
Bill, your friend should contact his own insurance company and make a claim. The attempts to contact a human representative from his insurance company proved to be just as futile as were the attempts to contact the neighbor's insurance, possibly~probably due to Independence Day. I just returned from taking him to his bank and to get a rental car, which he did not want to do because of the out-of-pocket expense but Beryl is almost certainly going to impact this area. |
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relight
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Post by relight on Jul 6, 2024 15:59:06 GMT -5
I agree with what John said above. Have your neighbor contact his insurance company and let them fight it out. This was my profession. This is exactly right. Report to the auto insurer if comprehensive coverage is available. Let them worry about neighbor's liability. I don't recall specific TX law but in general there needs to be clear prior knowledge that would create an obvious duty to remedy. An example would be a clearly dead tree that the homeowner was on notice about. Unfortunately there isn't an @sshole law. May also need to make a homeowners claim which will provide limited coverage to cut up and haul the tree (usually $500). |
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 16:24:22 GMT -5
I took care of the tree, after the electric company gave me the o.k. to do so. |
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Post by urbino on Jul 6, 2024 16:26:20 GMT -5
I took care of the tree, after the electric company gave me the o.k. to do so. Maybe you can get 500 bucks for it.  |
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Post by oldcajun123 on Jul 6, 2024 18:09:52 GMT -5
Yes ask for the money.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 6, 2024 19:03:12 GMT -5
I took care of the tree, after the electric company gave me the o.k. to do so. You have photos of the tree as it fell. The Claims Adjuster will need them. Since you have cut up the tree make sure it remains on your friend's property so the Adjuster can evaluate the tree's condition prior to falling. The jerk's negligence in dealing with it prior to falling will be a challenge but could be determined. You have photos of the stump and that will help. Generally, when something like this happens, it is best to leave the scene as it was found so the Adjuster can see clearly what happened. Since no one was directly harmed like being pinned under the tree or in the car at the time. I am not criticizing what you did but providing some clarity on future mishaps you might encounter. Always a drag when things happen over a holiday, eh? |
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 6, 2024 22:16:40 GMT -5
I took care of the tree, after the electric company gave me the o.k. to do so. You have photos of the tree as it fell. The Claims Adjuster will need them. Since you have cut up the tree make sure it remains on your friend's property so the Adjuster can evaluate the tree's condition prior to falling. The jerk's negligence in dealing with it prior to falling will be a challenge but could be determined. You have photos of the stump and that will help. Generally, when something like this happens, it is best to leave the scene as it was found so the Adjuster can see clearly what happened. Since no one was directly harmed like being pinned under the tree or in the car at the time. I am not criticizing what you did but providing some clarity on future mishaps you might encounter. Always a drag when things happen over a holiday, eh? I appreciate the input~advice from you and everyone else. We live on the Texas Gulf Coast, so the main concern was getting his electricity back on because of the heat~humidity. It could almost be considered miraculous for TNMP to have showed up when they did; even though they would not do anything other than confirm that the electricity was isolated, then wait for the line to be free from entanglement and turn the power back on. |
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Mrs. Zarnicky
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Post by Mrs. Zarnicky on Jul 7, 2024 6:23:11 GMT -5
Did you know that I can cutting down dead tree just by looking at it?
Is true. I saw it with my own eyes!
Zarnicky doing this in Septeeeember!
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Post by toshtego on Jul 7, 2024 7:55:07 GMT -5
You have photos. That ought to satisfy them. I get the need for power restoration down Gulf Way.
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Post by dervis on Jul 12, 2024 8:06:17 GMT -5
Good on you to help the neighbor. That really is what we are all here for. I imagine if someone had helped the other neighbor and cut down the tree when it needed it could have still be helping a neighbor and without the rest of the hassle. Certainly a lesson there I myself need reminded of often.
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Post by urbino on Jul 12, 2024 15:05:43 GMT -5
Good on you to help the neighbor. That really is what we are all here for. I imagine if someone had helped the other neighbor and cut down the tree when it needed it could have still be helping a neighbor and without the rest of the hassle. Certainly a lesson there I myself need reminded of often. I'm not sure the other neighbor is the kind of guy who would say yes to that kind of thing, or the kind of guy whose property you want to be doing that kind of thing on.
I agree with the general principle, though.
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bill1994eopd
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Post by bill1994eopd on Jul 14, 2024 12:28:05 GMT -5
I get the need for power restoration down Gulf Way. This has been magnified beyond belief. |
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Post by trailboss on Jul 14, 2024 14:13:17 GMT -5
The utility workers responsible are doing the Lords work. Tough temps/ humidity/ insects biting you while up on a pole…. Every joint must ache.
Good paying jobs, but every penny is hard earned.
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Good on you for helping the man. That tree should have been removed as it was a menace to life and property, I hate lawsuits but that’s a good one waiting for a lawyer. Again good on you.
