Contractor Damaged Utility Cable

[Leeds Lad]

Good evening,

 

A friend of mine has asked me to look into this matter for him as I work for a law firm as a legal clerk dealing with PI claims, however I have no real knowledge regarding this subject.

 

A few months ago, he instructed a contractor to repair a damaged fence at the back of his property. At the back of the property runs a public footpath.

 

He had a knock at the door a few weeks ago from the electricty company, asking for his details as they were doing some work at the back of his property and wanted to let him know when they would possibly disrupt him.

 

Shortly after this knock at the door, he received a letter from the electricity company saying that he has caused around £5000 worth of damage to the electricity equipment. They have not yet sent him an invoice, however they have said that they will be doing this.

 

 

1. Is my friend negligent or the contractor, or both?
   
2. If my friend is negligent, are his home insurers likely to indemnify him? I have suggested that he reviews the T&Cs of his policy and also to contact his insurers, but he hasn't yet.
   
3. Do you think a law firm would defend the matter for him on a CFA/no win no fee basis?
   

If there is any other information you can provide, I would be very grateful.

 

Regards,

 

Leeds Lad

[Undercover-Elsa]

Surely the Contractor is liable for this? If it's a reputable firm they should have liability insurance. I'm no leagle eagle but I would definitely take this up with the contractors. Also, the power company are being their own judge and jury here..surely they have to prove that damage was done by your friend or his agent, if necessary via an independant survey.

Your friend's insurance may include a legal advice facility, he could check with that initially, and certainly inform his own insurance company of the dispute, initially for advice.

 

This is a touchy subject for me as I had the reverse problem in which the power company undercut my wall while upgrading the general supply on the path next to my house. 5 hours after they left, the wall collapsed .

They refused to pay as they said it was an old wall and was still standing when they left!! They had, however, taken a photograph to prove this, before they left? WHY?? LOL. Obviously they expected problems!

All the best with this, wish I could be more help,

 

Elsa x

[MrHandyman]

As Elsa said, the contractor's liability insurance should cover this.

 

I would ask the power company for all the paperwork and files they have on this case, and ask them what they advise the cause of the damage is. I would then pass this on to the contractor and tell him to inform his insurance company, as he WILL be paying for his mistake.

 

Even if your friend took the matter to court, any decent judge would rule against the contractor given the evidence.