Paralysed tree surgeon sues National Trust for millions

 
50ft fall: Jamie Yates, who was left paralysed from the waist down
David Churchill11 December 2013

A tree surgeon with a love of adventure sports is suing the National Trust for millions of pounds after falling 50ft from a horse chestnut.

Jamie Yates was left paralysed from the waist down and wheelchair-bound for life when a rotten branch gave way at Morden Hall Park, in December 2009.

The 26-year-old this week launched his multi-million-pound case at the High Court for pain and suffering, loss of earnings and the cost of care and special equipment he needs.

Mr Yates, of Chichester, West Sussex, was about 50ft up the tree when it is alleged the branch holding his safety rope snapped, hurling him to the ground.

He claims the Trust should not have allowed him to climb a tree in such a state of decay and that the heritage charity exposed him to unnecessary risk of injury. His counsel, Christopher Wilson-Smith QC, told the High Court that Mr Yates, who was working for an independent contractor, had never dismantled a tree of such height before and did not have the certificate that would have qualified him to carry out sectional felling.

The issue for the court is whether it was reasonable for the Trust, which denies negligence or breach of duty, to instruct the contractors, none of whom had appropriate certificates.

The hearing continues.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in