The Incident

During hurricane Irma in 2017, our client was walking through their home when a tree fell through their roof and struck them, knocking them to the ground. The incident caused injuries that required medical care including back injections for pain relief and a neurology specialist. However, the incident could have been prevented.

Investigation

The tree that fell onto our client’s home had been dead for some time prior to hurricane Irma. The leaves were falling off and the branches were dead. After speaking with our client and several of their neighbors, our team was able to confirm that this was an ongoing issue. Several of the people we interviewed had asked for the tree to be removed because of the risk it posed to their homes. However, the owner who’s lot the tree was located on did not have it removed.

Dead or damaged trees pose a major threat to homes, especially during hurricanes. After being notified of this potential threat and failing to have the dead tree removed, the negligent party in this incident was clear.

Successful Outcome for Our Client

We were able to negotiate a significant settlement for our client because of the pre-existing threat. In this case, we were able to secure a settlement of $220,000.