National Trust not to blame for the death of 11 year old school boy
Wednesday 27th July 2011
Daniel Mullinger, an 11 year old schoolboy from Essex tragically died when a 70ft branch fell on him while he was taking shelter under an 180-year-old beech tree in the Great Wood of a National Trust estate.
Three other pupils from Heathlands Church of England Primary School were also severely injured.
All four families sought compensation from the Landowner, the National Trust, for failing to exercise reasonable care in inspecting and maintaining the beech tree.
The case, which if successful would have imposed an onerous obligation on landowners to ensure that stringent safety inspection regimes were in place, was rejected by Mr Justice Mackay.
The judge heard from a volunteer tree inspector that two inspections of the tree had been carried out in January 2007 and neither had 'tagged the tree as a public hazard'. She said that over the 15 years that she had worked at the National Trust Estate, the tree had changed very little in appearance and was found to be in good health.
The judge found that the Trust had discharged their legal duty and had not been negligent.
This case does not change the fact that Landowners owe a duty of care to their visitors and must have a system in place to ensure that any potential dangers are detected and dealt with.
Stephen Walker, Partner in the Personal Injury Department at Ashfords LLP said "The law imposes on landowners and occupiers a duty to ensure that their land or premises are reasonably safe for visitors to use or visit. Each case is very dependant upon its facts as is demonstrated in this very tragic case but if in a case it is found that steps have not been taken to ensure the safety of visitors a claim could be made for injuries and losses sustained in any accident on land or premises"
Ashfords Personal Injury Team have extensive experience in all areas of personal injury claims ranging from accidents on public property or at work to Road Traffic accidents and clinical negligence. If you are a claimant and would like to discuss a potential personal injury claim and the funding options that are available to you including the option of a 'no win no fee' arrangement then please contact Stephen Walker, Partner, on 01884 203057.
