Fell Out Of A Tree

[LadyBelle]

Jurisdiction

Colorado

Hi, I am trying to help a friend of mine determine if he has any legal basis to file a law suit against someone that he was doing work for. He was cutting and trimming trees for this person and ended up falling out of the tree causing him to shatter his hip. Can this guy be held accountable for my friends injuries?

 

[army judge]

Hi, I am trying to help a friend of mine determine if he has any legal basis to file a law suit against someone that he was doing work for. He was cutting and trimming trees for this person and ended up falling out of the tree causing him to shatter his hip. Can this guy be held accountable for my friends injuries?

If he was employed by the person, workers comp might apply.
If was contracting to the guy to cut grass, trim trees, shovel snow, maybe.
I suggest your friend speak with three or four personal injury attorneys for a case assessment.
If your pal has a decent case, the attorneys will offer to assist him.
If his case is weak, or nonexistent, that will be made known to him or her, too.
Good luck.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

@army judge makes a great point about workers' compensation. If this was just a neighbor or friend doing some work and falling out of a tree, you'd need a reason to sue. Why should the tree owner be liable? Is this just misfortune or was there some type of negligence involved? For example, perhaps a tree branch was cracked and the tree owner knew about it but neglected to tell the worker before he climbed the tree. Otherwise, in the absence of negligence and another mode of compensation (as suggested above), it could just be a case of misfortune.