Tree damage by contractor

[James Tiu]

Hello BP. I have a question about tree damage caused by a contractor. I bought a fixer in May of last year in San diego. To start any construction and renovation my property needed a driveway from the street. We had to dip into the contingency fund to create a curb cut for the driveway. This is where damage to the city's tree was caused. The tree that my contractor believed was my tree was damaged because of the roots being cut for the creation of the driveway. My contractor has mentioned the city would like him to hire an arborist to assess the health of the tree. My contractor said to me he will wait for the end of construction and see if the tree is still healthy. My concern and question is will I be responsible for the tree if the city deems that the tree is unhealthy? I still have extra funds for my contingency but I believe that I should not have to dip further into it if the tree's health declined because of the contractor or subcontractors fault. BP please let me know your thoughts. I believe this is my contractor's fault and he may try to pin this on me. Thank you in advance for your tips.

[Wayne Brooks]

Well, the contractor was simply doing what was required for you.....even though he should have made it clear the tree roots might be damaged or at least he/you have the roots trimmed/treated professionally