Killed by Falling Tree...Should family be compensated?

[*$kїđž!™]

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Dad ... 95005.html

Dad killed after tree falls, branch strikes car
By Joel Julien joel.julien@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Jul 4, 2012 at 11:58 PM ECT
Story Updated: Jul 5, 2012 at 2:16 PM ECT
IT was supposed to have been an ordinary errand.
Jamil Mohammed, 43, had to purchase parts for his maxi-taxi in D'Abadie.
So on Monday around 2 p.m., Mohammed took his teenage son, Iejaz, for a drive in the family car, in pursuit of the parts.
"We were best friends. We went everywhere together, so when he told me he had to buy seals for the maxi-taxi, it was only natural that I would go with him," Lejaz said yesterday at the family home at Little Coora Road, Cumuto.
The father and son were in the car, a Lancer Mirage, registration PAY 9730, driving along the west-bound lane of the Eastern Main Road, in the vicinity of the Cleaver Woods Recreation Park, when tragedy struck.
"The road was clear, our car was the only car on the road at that time and while he was driving I saw out of the corner of my eye that a tree was falling," Iejaz said yesterday.
Iejaz, a 15-year-old pupil of the Coryal Secondary School, turned to warn his father.
"By the time I turned, I saw the huge tree fall. It bounced on the power line and a branch from the tree swung and struck our car," Iejaz said. The incident happened in the "blink of an eye", Iejaz said.
The branch of the fallen tree slammed onto the roof of Mohammed's car and pushed the vehicle onto the east-bound side of the road.
The tree fell from the left-hand side of the roadway.
Mohammed died at the scene of the accident.
According to autopsy results, he died from blunt force trauma to his head and neck.
Iejaz sustained minor injuries to his left shoulder.
Officers from the Arima Fire Station responded to the accident and removed Mohammed from the vehicle using the Jaws of Life, a hydraulic cutting tool.
Personnel from the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission removed the fallen tree from the electricity lines.
Mohammed's damaged vehicle was taken to the Arima Police Station.
Now the family is seeking answers.
Mohammed's wife for the past 17 years Isha, 41, yesterday said no one from the Government or any State agency has approached the family following the fatal accident.
"I just want people to know it was not his fault. He was driving going on his way and then this happened. Somebody has to accept responsibility for this. He was the sole breadwinner for the family," Isha said.
Apart from Iejaz, Mohammed was also the father of an eight-year-old girl, Sameera.
Sameera is a pupil at the Upper Cumuto Government Primary School.
"These children are now fatherless because someone shirked their responsibility," Isha said.
The Mohammed family was told by police that numerous reports were made about the overgrown trees lining the Eastern Main Road at the Cleaver Woods Recreation Park.
"No amount of money can bring back my husband, but we have to be compensated for this," Isha said yesterday.
While the Mohammed family is still to hear from anyone in authority, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Forestry Division yesterday sent out a media release addressing the situation.
"The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources wishes to express its deepest and sincerest condolences to the family of Mr Mohammed over this tragic incident and the resulting loss of life and pledges to cooperate fully with all relevant investigations," the release stated.
Shown the release, Isha said it was of little comfort.
Mohammed was laid to rest according to Muslim rites around 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
The fact that over 200 people attended the funeral service at the family's home, with such short notice, was testament to the kind on man he was, Isha said.
"He was a family man. He was helpful and would take the shirt off his back to help anyone and everyone," she said.

[kurpal_v2]

I dont understand her reasoning, why should the family be compensated?



Stupid trinis and this gimme gimme mentality

[K74T]

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=447983

[sharkman121]

I dont understand her reasoning, why should the family be compensated?



Stupid trinis and this gimme gimme mentality

i agree, why is the govt responsible. I mean i sympathize with the guy but this would set a bad precedent. Thats what life insurance is for.

Circumstance seems like something outta Final Destination though.

[FullStop]

government is responsible for the park no?

[Aaron 2NR]

its an accident and really a sad reality but isn't this why you pay insurance, in the event for a fatality while behind the wheel???

[rfari]

I dont understand her reasoning, why should the family be compensated?



Stupid trinis and this gimme gimme mentality

i agree, why is the govt responsible. I mean i sympathize with the guy but this would set a bad precedent. Thats what life insurance is for.

Circumstance seems like something outta Final Destination though.

I disagree tho. If negligence was responsible for the ill-timed tree across the roadway then someone wasn't doing a proper job

[Stephon.]

I think that they should be compensated actually. It's the government's park, and a tree from the park fell and killed the guy, I don't think that this is a case of "gimme gimme" at all

[kurpal_v2]

I dont understand her reasoning, why should the family be compensated?



Stupid trinis and this gimme gimme mentality

i agree, why is the govt responsible. I mean i sympathize with the guy but this would set a bad precedent. Thats what life insurance is for.

Circumstance seems like something outta Final Destination though.

I disagree tho. If negligence was responsible for the ill-timed tree across the roadway then someone wasn't doing a proper job

Only and only if you can prove negligence of that specific tree being rotten can you approach an insurance company/ ask for compensation.


AFAIK "acts of god" isnt covered by most policies and basically a "hardlucksdeyboidanboi" scenario.

[rfari]

I dont understand her reasoning, why should the family be compensated?



Stupid trinis and this gimme gimme mentality

i agree, why is the govt responsible. I mean i sympathize with the guy but this would set a bad precedent. Thats what life insurance is for.

Circumstance seems like something outta Final Destination though.

I disagree tho. If negligence was responsible for the ill-timed tree across the roadway then someone wasn't doing a proper job

Only and only if you can prove negligence of that specific tree being rotten can you approach an insurance company/ ask for compensation.


AFAIK "acts of god" isnt covered by most policies and basically a "hardlucksdeyboidanboi" scenario.

I can agree with that. Most likely the tree was diseased.

[stev]

read the story in different newspapers and i think they should be compensated. looks can be deceiving but they look that they could use the money. im sure the funeral was expensive plus i think the dad alone used to work. son and daughter too young, mother looked like the average housewife.

[A33_BZ]

im sorry to hear abt this, i for one knows how this feels, i lost my wife @27 yrs past this week and it is devastating esp how he was the bread winner of the family...i hope they get some sort of compensation to help the family in distress..my condolences to the family

[sharkman121]

read the story in different newspapers and i think they should be compensated. looks can be deceiving but they look that they could use the money. im sure the funeral was expensive plus i think the dad alone used to work. son and daughter too young, mother looked like the average housewife.

sorry to sound like the villain here but this alone is not reason to be compensated. Like i said you gonna open up a floodgate of ppl wanted to be compensated by teh govt.

[stev]

read the story in different newspapers and i think they should be compensated. looks can be deceiving but they look that they could use the money. im sure the funeral was expensive plus i think the dad alone used to work. son and daughter too young, mother looked like the average housewife.

sorry to sound like the villain here but this alone is not reason to be compensated. Like i said you gonna open up a floodgate of ppl wanted to be compensated by teh govt.

very good point. if people hear dat Gov't give dem money, that goin and cause bachanal. Gov't probably already aware of this incident and may already have ways to deal with it..(hide)

[kurpal_v2]

read the story in different newspapers and i think they should be compensated. looks can be deceiving but they look that they could use the money. im sure the funeral was expensive plus i think the dad alone used to work. son and daughter too young, mother looked like the average housewife.

sorry to sound like the villain here but this alone is not reason to be compensated. Like i said you gonna open up a floodgate of ppl wanted to be compensated by teh govt.

very good point. if people hear dat Gov't give dem money, that goin and cause bachanal. Gov't probably already aware of this incident and may already have ways to deal with it..(hide)

IMO Best they could offer the moms is a job, if she aint want that then udfr.

[stev]

wat job they can offer her so...assume she has no degree / training.

biggest child is 15, daughter much younger.

[Skanky]

The Mohammed family was told by police that numerous reports were made about the overgrown trees lining the Eastern Main Road at the Cleaver Woods Recreation Park.

In this case it's not act of god.Some agency was responsible for the upkeep of the trees and they were negligent in carrying out their duties and it cost somebody their life.
The family should be compensated.
If possible, legal action should be taken against such agency/person(s) for dereliction of duty.

[toyolink]

In our country we generally have a long way to go!
This incident for many should be classified an act of 'GOD'.
The fact is, there are many questions to be answered e.g.
-Was the the tree on the Right-Of-Way adjacent to the road?
-Who has responsibility for the ROW?
-Are there records of reports on state of ROW to competent authorities?
-Is there evidence to demonstrate continuous dereliction of duty by competent auth.?
-Did the victim in anyway contribute to his demise?
Based on infor. and general knowledge of how ROW's are maintained and the lack of concern by relevant authorities for safety issues my feelings about legal liability is self evident.
Fortunately for competent authority,the right of redress in this land only accomodates those with the financial capacity to fight.

[S_2NR]

The Mohammed family was told by police that numerous reports were made about the overgrown trees lining the Eastern Main Road at the Cleaver Woods Recreation Park.

In this case it's not act of god.Some agency was responsible for the upkeep of the trees and they were negligent in carrying out their duties and it cost somebody their life.
The family should be compensated.
If possible, legal action should be taken against such agency/person(s) for dereliction of duty.

This.

[adriano7910]

read the story in different newspapers and i think they should be compensated. looks can be deceiving but they look that they could use the money. im sure the funeral was expensive plus i think the dad alone used to work. son and daughter too young, mother looked like the average housewife.

sorry to sound like the villain here but this alone is not reason to be compensated. Like i said you gonna open up a floodgate of ppl wanted to be compensated by teh govt.

cannot open a flood gate if proper reason is soon that it was the government ministry's fault. if it is proven wrong on their part then they should compensate. other ppl cannot come with a gimme gimme attitude if they have NO CASE. it would just be ignored.

btw they have a maxi. let the wife learn to drive ......

[stev]

let the wife learn to drive ......

not a good idea IMO

[adriano7910]

its an accident and really a sad reality but isn't this why you pay insurance, in the event for a fatality while behind the wheel???

more than half of trinidad doesnt have life insurance, and repaying for a $16k car valued at about 8 by an insurance company would do any justice to a possible 20 yr working life that the man had remaining.

[sharkman121]

The Mohammed family was told by police that numerous reports were made about the overgrown trees lining the Eastern Main Road at the Cleaver Woods Recreation Park.

In this case it's not act of god.Some agency was responsible for the upkeep of the trees and they were negligent in carrying out their duties and it cost somebody their life.
The family should be compensated.
If possible, legal action should be taken against such agency/person(s) for dereliction of duty.

Change of heart, Quite valid points here for real, if its considered neglect by the state then by all means they should compensate the family.

[*$kїđž!™]

so my car shocks got damaged from a big hole in the road....government failed to repair roads....can i be compensated....just asking......

[kurpal_v2]

so my car shocks got damaged from a big hole in the road....government failed to repair roads....can i be compensated....just asking......

Can you prove it was the big hole in question that caused the damage? Understand what I mean?

The Mohammed family was told by police that numerous reports were made about the overgrown trees lining the Eastern Main Road at the Cleaver Woods Recreation Park.

In this case it's not act of god.Some agency was responsible for the upkeep of the trees and they were negligent in carrying out their duties and it cost somebody their life.
The family should be compensated.
If possible, legal action should be taken against such agency/person(s) for dereliction of duty.

Change of heart, Quite valid points here for real, if its considered neglect by the state then by all means they should compensate the family.

Note the part I put in bold, how are overgrown trees dealt with? Are they not typically trimmed, branches cut to avoid contact with power lines and such? This agency which is hired, what is their job description? Are they hired to manage overgrown trees or are they hired to determine when a tree would fall and which tree can be considered high risk? How do you tell if a tree will fall? Did the deceased know of the dangers driving along that route? Did he not take the risk to ignore the dangers? Understand where Im going?

You see you guys are thinking ethically and calling for "jusstiss" in a more civilized form but missing the legalities to the matter. You cant say its not an act of god beacuse this event meets the definition of the very phrase:

An act of God is an unforeseeable natural phenomenon. Explained by Lord Hobhouse in Transco plc v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council as describing events;
(i) which involve no human agency
(ii) which is not realistically possible to guard against
(iii) which is due directly and exclusively to natural causes and
(iv) which could not have been prevented by any amount of foresight, plans, and care.

wat job they can offer her so...assume she has no degree / training.

biggest child is 15, daughter much younger.

Simple ojt, Cepep, whatever other goverment vacation.. sorry position she is qualified for. Even better, she has a maxi as capital, either sell it and find a trade or learn to drive the maxi. It not hard to earn a living today yuhno, just everyone want to make it to the top now and noone wants to do the work.

[Kronik]

So if a flood occurs and a house suffers water damage or is destroyed as a result, ent is the responsibility of the ministry of infrastructure to do flood prevention measures. So govt should be blamed and compensate the owners???

Sorry that the man died, but too much gimme gimme ppl looking for handouts. If she was to be compensated, then it would have real thing ppl could blame govt for and demand compensation.

And t&tec is responsible for trimming trees away from the power lines, there is a section specifically for that

[Gladiator]

All the woman needs is a good lawyer and they will be hitting the authorities for six!

[kurpal_v2]

All the woman needs is a good lawyer and they will be hitting the authorities for six!

How?

[Soundwave]

All the woman needs is a good lawyer and they will be hitting the authorities for six!

How?

cricket bat...

[kurpal_v2]

All the woman needs is a good lawyer and they will be hitting the authorities for six!

How?

cricket bat...

Seems plausible.