Queensland storm season runs from roughly October to April, and every year it brings the same injuries. A branch comes down on someone walking to their car. A cyclist hits a tree lying across a dark bike path. A driver rounds a bend and there is a gum tree across the road. A neighbour helping with the clean-up is hurt by a chainsaw.
Most people in that position assume nobody is to blame, because it was the weather. Sometimes that is right. Often it is not, and the difference usually comes down to evidence that disappears within days of the storm.
This guide explains when someone else may be responsible, what makes claims against councils harder, how CTP insurance works when a fallen tree is involved, and what to do now if this has happened to you or someone in your family.
A storm does not automatically mean nobody is at fault
Queensland law does not ask whether the weather was bad. It asks whether the person responsible for the tree, the path or the road took reasonable care.
Under the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), a person or organisation can be liable in negligence if the risk of harm was foreseeable, it was not insignificant, and a reasonable person in their position would have taken precautions against it.
Applied to trees, that usually turns on questions like these:
- Was the tree dead, diseased, hollow or visibly leaning before the storm?
- Had anyone complained about it, or had an arborist recommended work that was never done?
- Had large limbs fallen from it before?
- Was the storm so severe that even a healthy, well-maintained tree would have come down?
A healthy tree snapped by a freak gust is a very different case from a rotting tree that neighbours had been reporting for two years. The first may be nobody’s fault. The second may well be.
When the tree or debris was on private property
Whoever controls land owes a duty to take reasonable care for the safety of people who come onto it, and in some cases people next to it. That includes homeowners, landlords, businesses, shopping centres, schools and body corporates responsible for common property.
If you were hurt on someone else’s property by a tree or storm debris, the questions are the ones above. Did they know, or should they have known, that the tree was a danger? And did they do what a reasonable occupier would have done about it?
You may have heard that Queensland’s neighbourhood tree laws make a tree-keeper responsible for making sure their tree does not seriously injure anyone. That responsibility is real, but the Act itself says it does not create a right to sue. An injury claim still has to be brought in negligence, which means proving the owner fell short of reasonable care.
Two practical points often reassure people who are worried about claiming against a neighbour or a landlord.
Insurance usually responds, not the person. Most home and contents policies include legal liability cover, and businesses generally carry insurance for public liability claims. A claim is normally dealt with by the insurer.
Tenants should put concerns in writing. If you rent and a tree on the property worries you, tell the agent or landlord by email. If something later goes wrong, that record matters.
Council trees, footpaths and roadworks
Claims against councils and other public authorities follow the same basic rules, but they face extra hurdles that do not apply to private owners.
The Civil Liability Act allows a court to take into account a public authority’s limited resources and competing priorities. It also says a road authority is not liable for failing to repair a road or footpath, or failing to inspect it, unless it actually knew about the particular risk that caused the injury. “Should have known” is not enough for that part of a claim.
That rule can work for injured people too. In Goondiwindi Regional Council v Tait, a motorcyclist hit a large pothole on a flood-damaged section of highway after the council’s temporary warning signs had blown over. The council could not rely on the protection, because its workers knew potholes were forming after the rain. That knowledge was the reason they had put the signs up.
A Queensland Supreme Court decision in May 2026 shows how high the bar can be in other cases. In Dennison v Brisbane City Council, a cyclist riding along a Brisbane footpath before dawn struck a mesh barricade the council had put up around freshly poured concrete, and suffered catastrophic eye and brain injuries. The judge found the council would otherwise have been negligent, because the barricade was not adequately visible, warned of or marked out at night.
The council still won. The court held that a separate protection in the Act applied. The injured person had to prove the council’s conduct was so unreasonable that no public authority could properly have considered it reasonable, and that had not been shown. The court said it would have awarded about $676,000 in damages. The cyclist received nothing.
That does not mean claims against councils cannot succeed. It means they are won or lost on liability evidence, particularly evidence of what the council knew and when. If a council tree or footpath has been reported before, those reports can be decisive. You can see how other Queensland claims against councils have turned out in our personal injury quantum database.
If you crashed into a fallen tree
People are often surprised to learn that compulsory third party (CTP) insurance does not cover every car crash.
CTP pays for injuries caused by the fault of a driver or owner of a vehicle. If you were driving alone, hit a tree that had fallen across the road, and no other driver was involved, there is usually no CTP claim for your own injuries. Any claim would be against whoever was responsible for the tree or the road, such as a council, the Department of Transport and Main Roads, or a private landowner, and the hurdles described above apply.
Those claims do not go through the CTP scheme. They follow the same pre-court process as other public liability claims, set out in the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld). You give the council or landowner a formal notice of claim, they must respond to it, and both sides have to attend a compulsory conference to try to settle before anyone can start court proceedings. In Cayley v Gladstone Regional Council, a driver lost traction on loose gravel left behind after roadworks and hit a tree. Because the negligence alleged was the council’s, not another driver’s, the claim was made against the council under that Act rather than as a CTP claim.
It is different if another driver contributed. If you were a passenger and the driver was going too fast for the conditions, or another car forced you off the road, a CTP claim may be available. It is paid by the CTP insurer, not by the driver personally, which matters when the driver is a friend or family member.
If the other vehicle drove off and cannot be identified, the claim goes to the Nominal Defendant, which is how hit and run claims work, and the time limit for that claim is strict (see below). It also helps to understand your responsibility to try to identify the other vehicle.
Injured during the clean-up
The days after a storm are often more dangerous than the storm itself. Ladders, chainsaws, falling limbs and damaged powerlines cause serious injuries every season.
If you were hurt at work, for example as a tree lopper, council worker, landscaper, electrical contractor or an employee sent to clear a work site, you are covered by workers’ compensation regardless of who was at fault. The time limit to apply is generally six months from when your entitlement to compensation arises, which is not always the day you were injured. If your employer’s negligence contributed, for instance by sending you out without proper equipment, training or supervision, you may also be able to claim damages. Do not assume a late or rejected WorkCover application ends that possibility. Get advice before deciding.
If a contractor was doing the work, they owe a duty to people nearby. In Amos v Miki Stowers t/as Essy Tree Lopping Services, a homeowner unlocking their own gate was struck by a branch being cut from a neighbour’s tree. The court assessed damages at about $466,000. The tree lopper never defended the case, which is a reminder that a judgment is only as useful as the other side’s insurance.
If you were helping a neighbour or friend, a claim depends on whether the property owner was negligent, for example by lending faulty equipment or directing you into an obviously unsafe job. Courts do treat some dangers as obvious to anyone, which can make these claims harder.
Stay well away from fallen powerlines. Energex advises staying at least 10 metres away, assuming every fallen line is live, and warning others. Call Triple Zero (000), or Energex on 13 19 62 in South East Queensland or Ergon Energy on 13 16 70 elsewhere in the state. Electricity network operators have safety duties under Queensland’s electrical safety laws, and if someone is injured by a line that had been reported and left unattended, that may be worth looking into.
What to do if this has happened to you
Get medical treatment first. See a doctor even if the injury seems minor, and tell them exactly how it happened so it is recorded. Head and eye injuries in particular can be worse than they first appear.
Photograph everything before it is cleared. Councils, landowners and contractors clean up quickly after storms, and the best evidence goes with the green waste. Photograph the stump, the break point, any hollows, rot or fungus, the fallen limbs, and the surrounding area. If it is safe, keep a section of the broken branch. Our post-accident evidence checklist covers what else to gather.
Look for the tree’s history. Older Google Street View images can show whether a tree was already dead or leaning. Ask neighbours whether anyone complained about it. Keep any emails or messages that mention it.
Report it in writing. If a council tree, footpath or road was involved, report it through the council’s usual channel and keep the reference number. Earlier complaints from other people about the same tree or path may be obtainable later, either through a Right to Information application to the council or from the council directly once a formal claim is made.
Get witness details. Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw what happened, or who knew about the tree beforehand.
Be careful what you sign or say. Do not sign a release or give a recorded statement to another party’s insurer before getting advice, and keep the incident off social media.
Time limits you need to know about
Queensland injury claims have short notice periods that apply well before the general time limit for going to court.
- Public liability and council claims. A formal notice of claim is generally due within nine months of the incident, or within one month of instructing a lawyer once the party responsible has been identified, whichever is earlier.
- CTP claims. Notice is generally due within nine months of the accident, or within one month of first consulting a lawyer about a claim, whichever is earlier. Claims against the Nominal Defendant for an unidentified vehicle are barred if notice is not given within nine months.
- Workers’ compensation. Generally six months from when the entitlement to compensation arises.
- Court proceedings. Generally three years from the date of injury, with different rules for children.
Late notice is sometimes possible with a reasonable excuse, but it is much better not to rely on that.
Frequently asked questions
Possibly. It depends on whether the person or organisation responsible for the tree knew, or should have known, it was dangerous and failed to take reasonable steps. A healthy tree brought down by an extreme storm is less likely to lead to a claim than a dead or damaged tree that had been ignored.
Councils can be responsible, but Queensland law gives them extra protections. For failures to repair or inspect a road or footpath, a council generally is not liable unless it actually knew about the specific risk. Evidence of earlier complaints or reports is often the deciding factor.
Not usually if no other driver was at fault. CTP covers injuries caused by the fault of a driver or owner of a vehicle. If you were a passenger and your driver was careless, or another vehicle was involved, a CTP claim may be available.
Formal notice for most public liability and CTP claims is generally due within nine months, and sooner once you have spoken to a lawyer. Workers’ compensation applications generally have a six month limit. Court proceedings generally must start within three years. Because the rules differ by claim type, it is worth checking your position early.
Storm injuries often involve more than one possible responsible party, and the evidence that decides them tends to vanish in the first week. If you or someone in your family has been hurt and you are not sure whether anyone is responsible, Roche Legal can look at what happened and give you a straightforward view on whether a claim is worth pursuing. There is no obligation, and a conversation costs nothing.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Time limits and your options depend on your circumstances.