Foliage Can Make you Liable for a Car Accident

If you are a property owner in the State of Florida, have you trimmed the foliage on your property lately? If you haven’t, it might be wise to do so as soon as possible to avoid costly liability for an accident. That’s one important message attorney Paul Reed shared on the latest episode of Lawyer Podcast. Another equally important takeaway from the podcast is the importance of timely documenting the scene of a collision.

Are You Responsible for Overgrown Foliage?

If you live in Florida and you own property, you probably spend a good deal of your free time trimming trees, bushes, and other foliage – especially during hurricane season when it seems as though everything grows twice as fast. Like many homeowners, you may procrastinate and accept the risk of receiving a citation from the city for your overgrown flora. What you may not know, however, is that the consequences of letting your greenery run wild could be considerably more severe than a simple ordinance violation.

For decades, appellate courts throughout the State of Florida have disagreed on the issue of a property owner’s potential liability for overgrown foliage when that foliage causes or contributes to an injury accident. As the Florida Supreme Court put the question: Does the foreseeability zone of risk apply to private owners of residential property that contains foliage that does not extend into the public right of way? In other words, does a property owner have a legal duty to prevent flora from creating a hazard to motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians outside the borders of their property? The Florida Supreme Court recently considered the issue and held that yes, a property owner does have such a duty.

Historically, the law in Florida ascribed to the agrarian rule, which effectively said that a property owner was never legally liable for overgrown foliage. That all-encompassing rule was challenged with an easy fact pattern wherein a tree branch was hanging over a homeowner’s property line covering a stop sign. An accident ensued because the stop sign was hidden, and an injured motorist sued the property owner—and won. Finding the property owner liable effectively carved out an exception to the agrarian rule which, of course, triggered injured victims to try and create a variety of other potential exceptions during the following decades. Some appellate courts ruled that a property owner is liable, while others held that a property owner cannot be held liable for overgrown foliage.

The Florida Supreme Court finally resolved the issue in a recent case involving a motorcycle crash. The collision occurred at an intersection and the injured motorcycle rider claimed that overgrown foliage blocked the view of the intersection. The property owner was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which eventually made its way all the way up to the Florida Supreme Court. The FSC held that if natural foliage is on your property, and it is within your property line, then you cannot be held responsible for crashes on a public roadway, but if foliage protrudes off your property, then you can be held liable. For a Florida property owner, the takeaway is simple. Keeping your foliage trimmed away from public roadways is the only way to avoid the prospect of costly litigation.

Note that the recent ruling only applies to private property. It has been established for some time that a commercial property owner has a duty to keep foliage and other potential obstructions away from public roadways and failing to do so can lead to liability should an accident occur.

The Importance of Timely Documentation

Attorney Reed always stresses the importance of properly documenting the scene of an accident and the recent “foliage” case illustrates why doing so is crucial. When an overgrown tree or bush prevents a motorist from seeing important signage (such as a stop sign) or obstructs their view such that it contributes to a collision, it is imperative to document the scene as soon as possible for two reasons. First, if you wait to take photos of the scene, you run the risk that the property owner will trim the tree or bush before you get your photographs. Second, waiting too long to document the scene may result in your photographs being inadmissible because the photos are “too remote in time.” Even if the homeowner does nothing, foliage is alive and will grow and change over time, highlighting the importance of documenting the scene as close to the time of the accident as possible. Finally, if you were injured in an accident and overgrown foliage contributed to the accident, talk to an experienced personal injury attorney about pursuing the homeowner for damages.

If you have questions or concerns about the role that overgrown foliage played in a personal injury accident, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Reed & Reed.