The Courts expect people to behave in a reasonable manner. We all owe, therefore, a duty of care to those around us and we must take reasonable care to avoid causing injury to people or damage to their property. We may fail in this duty and be negligent either because of our action or inaction. Liability, however, usually depends on whether a reasonable person should have foreseen the risk and taken action to prevent the incident. If the injury or damage could not have been foreseen then the owner may not be judged to have been negligent. However, trees are potentially dangerous structures and a reasonable person should, therefore, inspect them regularly to ensure they do not pose an unreasonable threat to people or property.
A tree can never be regarded as completely safe and, as a result, the Courts expect a prudent landowner or tenant to inspect trees regularly, especially those trees in a position close to people and property. In many instances defects in trees usually start to develop many years before the tree becomes potentially unsafe. Regular inspections should identify and monitor such defects along with any other damage so that action can be taken before the trees become dangerous.