In a notable ruling by the District Court of Lyngby, a landlord and his father were acquitted after a tragic incident where a five-year-old girl was seriously injured by a fallen tree during Storm Malik in January 2022. The child, who lived in a rented house on Krathusvej in Charlottenlund, incurred a complicated skull fracture, but fortunately, she does not have any lasting injuries.
The case revolved around whether the landlord and his father displayed gross negligence by failing to fell the dangerous tree. Since the landlord lived abroad, his father was responsible for the maintenance of the house and acted as a kind of caretaker. However, the father’s attempts to have the tree felled were met with resistance and bureaucratic obstacles from both the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøstyrelsen), Gentofte Municipality (Gentofte Kommune), and a contacted forest manager.
In court, the father explained that he did everything in his power to have the trees, which were infected with fungi and posed a significant danger, removed. Despite his persistent efforts, he ended up in what he described as a dead end with the authorities.
The judge emphasized the father’s efforts and acknowledged his attempts to obtain the necessary permits to fell the trees. The court concluded that the authorities did not respond quickly enough and did not acknowledge their responsibility in addressing the problem. Therefore, the judge found insufficient grounds to convict the two men of negligence.
Defense attorney Anders Németh stated that the acquittal was expected and criticized the fact that charges had been brought against his clients at all. He stressed that the accident was primarily a result of the authorities’ sluggish handling of the matter.
Special prosecutor Rikke Hald had demanded that the two men be fined during the case, but it is now up to the State Prosecutor to decide whether to appeal the decision. This follows a storm during which a large beech tree fell, causing extensive damage.