Most of us have seen viral videos of hapless homeowners cutting down trees, only to see them fall in a direction they did not intend, most often towards their homes. Sometimes it’s carelessness, other times it’s well-intentioned people making costly mistakes. While we poke fun at these people, the results are no laughing matter.
Personal Injury. Tree cutting is dangerous, even for those who make a living doing so. Professionals are injured every day– according to the Tree Care Industry Association, there were 92 fatalities in 2016. Even for professionals, trees or limbs do unpredictable things on a regular basis. Unexpected internal rot, twisting stressors, or a swift breeze in the opposite direction can negate their surety on which direction the tree or limb is about to fall. Professionals have encountered these odd cases over and over again through their experience, and thus are able to apply mitigation techniques during he felling process to reduce unneeded risk as much as possible.
Insurance/Liability Issues. Another reason it’s wise to defer to a professional arborist is avoiding the legal liability if an accident occurs. If you damage a neighbor’s property, or worse, injure someone, you are solely on the hook for huge amounts of liability. Few insurance policies will cover for the
On your own property, homeowner insurance policies often exclude damages due to personal negligence. Not hiring a professional for this type of work constitutes negligence in a court of law, whether you had good intentions or not. Coverage for tree services typically comes with $1,000,000+ minimum coverage, both property and personal. An insured professional takes this potential burden away from you.
Specialized Tools. In addition to the skills unique to trained tree care professionals, there is specialized equipment that homeowners are not likely to have. Even if you had the skills to do the job, it would not make financial sense to buy or rent this equipment. Simple items such as specialized wedges, ropes, pulleys, and winches can come in very handy in emergency or unexpected situations.
Professionals go through this process and use the potentially dangerous tools all the time. Risks are not always easy to identify, so familiarity and expertise almost always trump well-intentioned do-it-yourself ambition. If you have a tree you need removed from your property, give us a call today.