ACT OF GOD OR NEGLIGENCE? ANSWER DETERMINES WHO PAYS FOR THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY A SUDDEN TREE STRIKE DURING A CLAM DAY
February 2, 2015
HOUSTON (KTRK) --
An act of God or possible negligence? That's the debate in
one Deer Park neighborhood after a tree fell on a neighbor's yard, causing
thousands in damages. So who should be on the hook for the repairs?
It's usually an uphill battle when fighting insurance
companies. So when a homeowner's claim was denied after a neighbor's tree fell
on her home, she turned to us for help.
Jodi Blair says January 4th was a calm Sunday afternoon.
"It was really pretty that day. The sun was shining. I
had laundry out," Blair said.
But that all changed in the blink of an eye, after her
neighbor's tree fell on the back of her home.
"It sounded like my patio came crashing down, and the
whole house shook," Blair said.
The towering Hackberry tree that prominently stood in her
neighbor’s backyard suddenly toppled onto her property, damaging her fence,
roof, and interior walls.
"The estimate I got was a little over $8,000. I
submitted that to my neighbor's insurance company," Blair said.
A little over a week later, Blair says she called Southern
Vanguard, the insurance company handling the claim and was told ...
"We're going to put this up as an act of God," she
said.
Professor Rick McElvaney with the Center for Consumer Law at
University of Houston says that's a common response to these types of claims.
"Almost any time someone has a tree issue, the defense
is act of God," McElvaney said.
Blair says she received this letter stating the claim was
denied because "there was no negligence on the part of our insured."
So what can you do if you're caught in this situation? If an
insurance company denies your claim, does your fight end there? Not yet!
Blair hired her own inspector to examine the tree. The
results were quite different from what the insurance carrier's inspector found.
"Infested with ants, termites, and root decay,"
said Gabriel De La Garza with Gabby's Tree Service.
De La Garza says that could put the tree at risk.
"Obviously it was a large tree. It could have been
trimmed. It could have been topped. Several options to have lowered it in
height to minimize the weight," he said.
Now if the insurance company won't cover the damages, can
the neighbor be held financially responsible?
"If they're negligent, they're basically going to be
responsible for the damages it causes a person or a property by not maintaining
their trees," McElvaney said.
Our calls and emails to Southern Vanguard have not yet been
returned. Blair did submit her own inspection report to the insurance company
and she tells us they have since reopened their investigation on the claim. We
will update you on the story as we learn more.
We do not understand as to why the homework would not submit
the claim to her insurance company.
Then, her insurance company has the right to subrogate the claim against
the neighbor. This was sudden and
accidental damage to her home, unless of course there was an exclusion in her
policy from such events.