Who is liable for negligence
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Who is liable for negligence
A tree fell on my car at work. My employer stated it is an act of God and they are not liable. The landlord;s insurance company stated their is a clause in the lease agreement that my employer is responsible for maintaining the premises and that
my employer is liable
Asked on July 21, 2018 under Insurance Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Someone is only liable for damage to your car if they were at fault in some way: with no fault, there is no liability. In terms of tree limb damage, that generally requires that you can show (since you would be the person suing, *you* have to prove fault) that the tree was obvously sick, dead, dying, damaged, etc. and so that whomever was responsible for maintaining the landscaping and trees had been unreasonably careless in failing to trim or cut down the treee, or cutting off the limb that feel (if this limb had been dead or damaged). The failure to take steps to mitigate or reduce an obvious or known threat is negligent and can establish fault and liabilty.
But there had been no reason that someone should have cut down the tree or trimmed this limb, then there was no fault; and without fault, no one else would be liable and you will have to bear the repair, etc. costs yourself.
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