If a fence falls on a car due to wind, who pays?

[V1nce Fox]

Hopefully this remains a hypothetical but just come from mum's house and her fence is on it's last legs. It's leant about 20 degrees and counting from vertical outwards. Some person has parked their car on the road and if the fence lets go completely it might make it to their car.

I've shored it up as best I can from inside tonight but it's still proper windy, rainy and now gone dark.

So the question is, if it falls over and damages the car on the road due to excessive wind, who pays?

[T6 vanman]

Using the playground rule book

You touched the fence last soooooooo

[V1nce Fox]

T6 vanman said:

Using the playground rule book

You touched the fence last soooooooo

ah, from the case of Baggsies vs Youreit, eh?

[davamer23]

I have no knowledge of the law but I would think that seeing as you know about it’s precarious state and admit it’s likely to give way and potentially damage someone’s vehicle then I find it hard to understand how it could be pinned on the owner of that vehicle.

Also If the fence fell and injured a passer by when you/your mother knows it’s likely to break then you’re liable I would’ve thought.

[V1nce Fox]

davamer23 said:

I have no knowledge of the law but I would think that seeing as you know about it’s precarious state and admit it’s likely to give way and potentially damage someone’s vehicle then I find it hard to understand how it could be pinned on the owner of that vehicle.

Also If the fence fell and injured a passer by when you/your mother knows it’s likely to break then you’re liable I would’ve thought.

I saw it for the first time about an hour ago.

It's dark, pissing down and blowing a gale outside and I can't locate the owner of the car which is parked there What am I supposed to do, exactly?

[davamer23]

Nothing, except pay for any damage if it occurs.

[Dsdans]

Is it not possible to remove the offending panel until a time where you can secure it adequately?

[V1nce Fox]

davamer23 said:

Nothing, except pay for any damage if it occurs.

Is this the law though or not? A fence which would otherwise have stayed up, is blown over due to high winds. There's no act of neglect here.

Guess I'll just have to hope it's still up in the morning and take it from there.

[Dsdans]

V1nce Fox said:

Is this the law though or not? A fence which would otherwise have stayed up, is blown over due to high winds. There's no act of neglect here.

Guess I'll just have to hope it's still up in the morning and take it from there.

Surely the "act of neglect" would be noting it isn't fit for purpose and then instead of removing the obstacle, posting on a website to make sure if it damages someone else's property you wallet escapes unscathed?

[NGee]

V1nce Fox said:

I saw it for the first time about an hour ago.

It's dark, pissing down and blowing a gale outside and I can't locate the owner of the car which is parked there What am I supposed to do, exactly?

Take the fence down, however inconvenient that might be.

You know that the fence could be dangerous, yet you want to leave it like it and piss around on an internet forum to see who you can blame.

Go and sort it NOW.

[V1nce Fox]

Dsdans said:

V1nce Fox said:

Is this the law though or not? A fence which would otherwise have stayed up, is blown over due to high winds. There's no act of neglect here.

Guess I'll just have to hope it's still up in the morning and take it from there.

Surely the "act of neglect" would be noting it isn't fit for purpose and then instead of removing the obstacle, posting on a website to make sure if it damages someone else's property you wallet escapes unscathed?

Jesus fking christ.

I JUST found out.
It can't be fixed tonight as it's dark, raining and STILL blowing a fking gale.
I CAN'T contact the owner as I have no idea whose car it is.

Again, what exactly am I supposed to do about it?

[davamer23]

V1nce Fox said:

Jesus fking christ.

I JUST found out.
It can't be fixed tonight as it's dark, raining and STILL blowing a fking gale.
I CAN'T contact the owner as I have no idea whose car it is.

Again, what exactly am I supposed to do about it?

It’s the car owners fault they parked there and didn’t check their crystal ball to realise that either (a) the fence could give way despite your attempts to shore it up OR (b) realise that a thread existed on here discussing the possibility that their car could get damaged and swiftly go and move it.

It’s all on them.


Is that what you wanted to hear?

[NGee]

V1nce Fox said:

Jesus fking christ.

I JUST found out.
It can't be fixed tonight as it's dark, raining and STILL blowing a fking gale.
I CAN'T contact the owner as I have no idea whose car it is.

Again, what exactly am I supposed to do about it?

Go and smash the fence down NOW.

That is exactly what I had to do a couple of evenings ago.

Still annoys me now that if it was daylight and not blowing a gale it could probably have been repaired quite easily (and cheaply).
But it wasn't and it was dangerous so it had to be removed as quick as possible, and now needs a new panel.
st happens, that's life. Sort it out.

[V1nce Fox]

davamer23 said:

V1nce Fox said:

Jesus fking christ.

I JUST found out.
It can't be fixed tonight as it's dark, raining and STILL blowing a fking gale.
I CAN'T contact the owner as I have no idea whose car it is.

Again, what exactly am I supposed to do about it?

It’s the car owners fault they parked there and didn’t check their crystal ball to realise that either (a) the fence could give way despite your attempts to shore it up OR (b) realise that a thread existed on here discussing the possibility that their car could get damaged and swiftly go and move it.

It’s all on them.


Is that what you wanted to hear?

No, what I would like to know is if there are any posters on here who can give a qualified, definitive legal answer.

If Id known it had started to go already I'd have fixed it.
If I knew whose car it was I'd go and tell them, but it's a densely housed area.
If I could fix it in these conditions I'd be out there doing that too, but I'd risk it falling on the car while it's still windy.

So in the event it might fall over, what is the legal position?

[V1nce Fox]

NGee said:

V1nce Fox said:

Jesus fking christ.

I JUST found out.
It can't be fixed tonight as it's dark, raining and STILL blowing a fking gale.
I CAN'T contact the owner as I have no idea whose car it is.

Again, what exactly am I supposed to do about it?

Go and smash the fence down NOW.

That is exactly what I had to do a couple of evenings ago.

Still annoys me now that if it was daylight and not blowing a gale it could probably have been repaired quite easily (and cheaply).
But it wasn't and it was dangerous so it had to be removed as quick as possible, and now needs a new panel.
st happens, that's life. Sort it out.

It's situation and weight makes that impossible, or I'd have done it. If the car is gone tomorrow I'll be able to get to it then and do it.

[944 Man]

If it was a suitable fence in good repair, then the car owner or their insurers pay. If the fence was not up to the job or in a poor state of repair, then the fence owner pays.

[deebs]

The owner of the fence would pay for the damage, because thats what decent people do, and despite it feeling the opposite, the world is mostly made of decent people. There's a minority who think responsibility is something that other people need to take.

[V1nce Fox]

OK, looks like I'll just have to check it again in the morning and hope for the best until then.

[TheInternet]

Is it fair to say that following exceptionally high winds a previously sound fence developed an issue which you remedied as best you could as soon as possible after it was noticed? And that weather and other practicalities have prevented you from being able to make it 100% safe at this stage?

Sounds like you've done as much as possible and haven't been negligent to me.

[V1nce Fox]

TheInternet said:

Is it fair to say that following exceptionally high winds a previously sound fence developed an issue which you remedied as best you could as soon as possible after it was noticed? And that weather and other practicalities have prevented you from being able to make it 100% safe at this stage?

Sounds like you've done as much as possible and haven't been negligent to me.

Thanks.

For the record, no one is trying to get out of anything or not be decent, mum is elderly, disabled and completely broke. If it goes over, I'll have to pay it despite none of this being of my doing in any way, shape or form.

For the record.