When the natural world is more difficult to predict and manage than man-made structures
What happened?
Here are two separate cases, but with similar circumstances and legal outcomes.
The first case involves a group of schoolchildren who were in a wood for outdoor educational activities in June 2007. While following a trail and using orienteering skills, it began to rain, and the group briefly sheltered under a large beech tree. Without warning, a large branch from the tree fractured and fell on the group.
One child died, and three other children suffered fractures and serious injuries. All the children were terrified by the experience.
The second case involves a girl who suffered terrible and life-changing injuries when she was struck by a substantial branch that had fallen from a horse chestnut tree while visiting a park in August 2016.
Both the wood and the park were National Trust properties, and the girls’ families made separate claims against the organisation.
Legal Outcome
The judge in the first case, in 2011, concluded that the inspectors had used all the care expected of reasonably competent persons and that The National Trust was not negligent or in breach of its duty. The claim against The National Trust was dismissed.
The court in the second case, in 2021, concluded that the National Trust properly discharged its duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that the girl was reasonably safe when visiting the park. The serious injuries suffered were determined to be the result of a tragic accident rather than the Trust’s negligence. The claim was dismissed.
What can we learn from what happened?
Serious injuries and fatalities are common when large branches fall from trees and hit those below. Some have resulted in successful prosecutions, but more often they don’t. And likewise with compensation claims. The natural world is more difficult to predict and manage than man-made structures, and as a result the judgement of what is reasonable when it comes to inspection and accident prevention measures is more forgiving.
This isn’t to say that organisations such as the National Trust do not need an effective inspection regime. They really do, but the law will often recognise that any measures they take will not be foolproof, and tragic accidents such the ones detailed here may happen.
Source of Information
Bridget Leathley – from her ‘The Safer Choice’ website