Palm frond smashes windscreen| council claims Act of God

Eric Frei

It was bound to happen eventually.

The culprit is a cuban royal palm, not even that tall.

The facts are that car parking beneath the trees is invited.

Fact is that palms regularly shed fronds, and cuban palms also shed a large heavy sheath from the crown shaft with the frond (it remains attached to the frond).

Fact is these palms were planted.

Here in Brisbane at Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens the BCC used to strap the shafts so fronds couldn't fall, then go around and fetch them etc .... but that stopped. Maybe it was stopped because the cost vs damage bill (cheaper to pay/deny a claim than strap the trees etc).

Now in Rockhampton they have a pruning regime, I cannot tell from the pictures whether or not the frond is attached to the sheath or not, but I suspect it is not to break the back windscreen. In the pruning regime it is likely that fronds are trimmed back close to the sheath but the sheath remains on the tree .... which later sheds on it's own but it comes straight down unlike when a frond is attached.

What will the story be when the trees are taller?

To claim and "Act of God" is a good defence, and it may cost a lot to prove the council negligent. But one must say, it is predictable and likely to occur unless the pruning regime is very frequent, also strapping might be the option.

To me, inviting people to park beneath trees that are known to shed large pieces is negligent.

Another thing to ask is, does the council install coconets to prevent coconuts falling or not? If it does then they display they know about catching shedding palm parts.

I personally have removed many cuban royal palms due to their location and shedding issues, especially on sides of driveways and near houses as they crack roof tiles.

Palm frond smashes car window | Rockhampton News | Local News in Rockhampton | Rockhampton Morning Bulletin

Council won't pay for repairs | Rockhampton News | Local News in Rockhampton | Rockhampton Morning Bulletin
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=Quay+Street+rockhampton&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Quay+St,+Rockhampton+Queensland+4700&gl=au&ei=JHXrTMmjO5T5cZORsIcP&oi=geocode_result&ved=0CBYQ8gEwAA&ll=-23.376709,150.513843&spn=0.002954,0.016512&z=17&layer=c&cbll=-23.376709,150.513847&panoid=7LsJf6Qyy48Cxc-WBDTDTw&cbp=11,296.29,,0,-8.92

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Drouin Tree Service

It will no doubt be councils insurer and the party involved sorting it out....

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Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

Eric Frei

I have just got off the phone with Bree who's car was impacted by the falling debris.

Bree confirmed my initial suspicion as correct, and the frond was cut off from the sheath. She also has supplied me 3 pictures which show greater detail, another one ready to fall and the one that hit her car.

Imagine the implications if instead of a car it was a person, child or baby etc?

Now lets look at this logically.

The council claims Act of God but we now know that the frond was cut from the sheath by man ......

The fact is the council planted the trees and invited people to park under them plus people walk past them. The pruning regime has issues and is not infallible, however there is other options like strapping the shafts that could be considered.

As a consulting arborist I watch these issues, I discuss these issues with clients, I also watch what governments do and how they respond to the inevitable claiming "Acts of God".

It was not an act of God the target and the tree were placed like that, that is an "act of Man". The pruning regime is not an act of God either, it is an "Act of Man". So the shedding part is controlled by the council, not God.

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jmcg.insight.gardens

Well, their maintenance schedule is obviously inadequate, it takes some time for the sheath to desiccate enough to drop.

I wonder what their maintenance schedule is?

Strapping the sheath after pruning might be advisable. They are very large sheaths and obviously would cause damage to vehicles parked under them. What if there had been a baby in a capsule in that car?

I would be looking at the length of time between their maintenance scheduled visits, obviously they need to shorten the time between scheduled maintenance.

Perhaps negligence could be found in a faulty maintenance schedule. To say that they are maintained is not enough really, maintenance schedules can be faulty.

derwoodii

O dear they Bcc don't have the burden of proof, she does. This will make it hard to fight City hall about a small claim so just move on. Be easier to claim she suffered a loss saying she tripped on the loose fitting paver's in picture.
My concern is how far she parks away from the kerb looks about 2 foot.
Sure the palm was planted by man maintained by him as well, but that car is clearly driven & parked by a woman.

Eric Frei

It is Rockhampton City Council not BCC.

There should be no obstructions to opening a car door, those trees are too close to the road and should have been set back further.

As it involves vehicle damage she might be able to take them to small claims court, inexpensive and no legal representation allowed.

I'd say she has the upper hand, regardless of how she parks.

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