The lawyer told about receiving compensation for falling trees on cars

In accordance with Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, damage caused to property or health is subject to full compensation by a person who is legally required to do so, even if he is not the direct cause of the damage. Exemption from liability is possible only with proven absence of guilt. This was stated to Izvestia on April 28 by Sofya Lukinova, head of the legal department of VMT Consult.

"Responsibility for incidents on the territory, as a rule, is borne by the organizations responsible for its maintenance. This may be a management company or a HOA, as well as local governments, depending on whose territory the incident occurred. We are talking about both the maintenance of green spaces and the removal of snow or ice from roofs and other infrastructure elements," the lawyer explained.

She stressed that for successful recovery of damages it is important to competently form an evidence base. First of all, it is necessary to record the circumstances of the incident: take photos and videos of the place, the damaged object and the damage caused, indicating the date and time. Eyewitness accounts are essential if they were present at the time of the incident.

It is also recommended to officially record the incident by calling the police or the Ministry of Emergency Situations to draw up an act or protocol. After that, the appropriate defendant should be identified and a pre-trial claim should be sent to him outlining the requirements.

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Special attention should be paid to damage assessment, Lukinova added. For this purpose, independent experts are involved, whose opinion is attached to the package of documents. In the event of a transition to legal proceedings, it will also be necessary to confirm ownership of the damaged property and the fact that a pre-trial claim has been filed.

The standard set of documents, according to the expert, includes an inspection report from official services, photo and video materials, witness statements, an independent appraiser's report, property documents, as well as confirmation of sending a claim.

At the same time, the expert noted that even if there is a full package of documents, compensation can be reduced. This is possible in cases where it is proven that the victim could have foreseen the risk, for example, parked the car next to an emergency or damaged tree, fenced with signal tape or accompanied by warning signs.

On April 27, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Moscow Region reported that six people were injured when trees fell in the Moscow region, but there were no fatalities. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 542 trees fell in 31 municipalities, 161 cars were damaged in 15 municipalities.