5/12/2012
Excellent article highlighting the importance of regular tree care and inspection. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/nyregion/in-new-york-neglected-trees-prove-deadly.html?_r=2&hp
1/21/2012
Article on new idea to create new ecosystems.
12/22/2011
How important is workers compensation?
We know that a lot of tree care companies neglect carrying workers' compensation insurance on their workers. Homeowners rarely, if ever, verify companies insurance claims. We have compiled this list of links to demonstrate what can happen when worker is injured or killed while working on your property. In most instances, the homeowner will become liable if an uninsured worker is injured on their property. Never hire a tree care company that cannot direct you to their insurance agent to verify coverage. Remember, a piece of paper declaring coverages is not enough, you must contact the insurance agent and get the proof directly from the agency.
Homeowner sued by injured worker 1.
Homeowner sued by injured worker 2.
Homeowners will be liable for workers injuries when hiring companies without workers compensation.
Lawyers eagerly await cases like the ones above, just read this article:
Hiring a Tree Service Without Workers’ Compensation: A Homeowner's Recipe For Financial Disaster
"Accidents Happen." But what most homeowners don't realize is that if a worker is injured on their property, it is you -- the homeowner --who can be held liable for all medical costs unless the employee is covered by workers compensation insurance. Hospital bills for serious accidents can be extraordinarily expensive and homeowner's insurance policies normally exclude such injuries.
Here is a true story that illustrates the problem:
Joseph Truman hired Anthony's Tree Service (ATS) to trim his tall trees for $450. ATS's owner, Eliseo,
gave Truman his business card describing ATS services such as topping, trimming, tree removal and
cleaning trees. The business card listed a license number so Truman concluded the company was
experienced and capable of doing the tree trimming. The license number, however, was for an expired
city business license and did not assure ATS was capable to doing the dangerous tree trimming work.
When Truman asked ATS Owner Eliseo for evidence of his workers' compensation insurance on
his tree trimmer employees, he showed Truman an expired policy. Eliseo promised to bring the
current policy the next day when the tree trimming was to begin. But the next day, before tree trimming
began, Eliseo told Truman he forgot to bring the current workers' compensation insurance policy.
However, Truman allowed work to begin because he figured the license number on the ATS business
card meant there was adequate insurance.
Unfortunately, ATS tree trimmer employee Miguel was severely injured when he fell from a tall tree.
Upon learning his employer, ATS, had no workers' compensation insurance, Miguel sued
Homeowner Truman. When Truman contacted his homeowner's insurance company, he learned he was
not insured for this type of injury because Miguel was not Truman's direct household employee.
If you were the judge, would you rule Truman is liable to tree trimmer Miguel for his injury damages? Well, the judge said YES he was. Because ATS was uninsured for workers’ compensation. The judge explained, Truman became the employer of Miguel. Therefore, homeowner Truman was obligated to provide workers' compensation insurance benefits to the injured Miguel. This type of very dangerous work does not come within the household employee exception for coverage under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) rules, the judge emphasized. At the very least, the judge continued, homeowner Truman should have verified the ATS workers' compensation insurance policy. Therefore, homeowner Truman can be held liable to Miguel for his uninsured injuries, the judge ruled. Workers compensation coverage adds considerable cost to job overhead. These expenses could be the cause of wide variations in prices between contractors who follow the standards versus those who choose to ignore them.
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12/21/2011
Tree Obituaries
We have decided to compile a list of links to help demonstrate the dangers of three care industry, and why we believe that ultimately you should hire professionals for your tree work.
Tree work, in its various capacities, is extremely dangerous. It makes the top 10 list of most dangerous jobs in the world year after year. Currently it is ranked the #2 most dangerous job. However, people continue to believe that it is a simple job that the average layman can do. You should not hire a handyman for your tree care needs, no more than you would hire a tree care professional to perform your electrical work.
Please view the news links below with caution, they are not for the faint of heart. It brings us great pain to be posting these links, but we feel it is necessary that you know the risks associated with the tree care industry, and why it is so important to hire only professionals for your tree care needs. Unfortunately, we could compile 100's to 1,000's of these links:
A man falls off a ladder and dies trimming a tree.
Climber cuts a limb above his and dies from injuries.
Handyman falls off ladder trimming a tree and dies.
Man dies cutting a tree for firewood.
Man injured from limb kickback in tree.
Dallas Firefighter injured trimming trees at fire station.
Climber crushed when tree splits on him.