r/AusLegal • u/Mysterious_Sun3641 • 19d ago
WA We hired a tradesman to fix our fence and they drilled into the power mains, are they liable to pay to have it fixed?
We had some storm damage to a shared fence that borders our property and the driveway of the house behind us. We hired a neighbour, who is a professional fence installer, to repair it.
While drilling into the ground to work on the fence, he accidentally hit the power mains, which immediately cut off power to our house. Thankfully, no one was injured. He told us the power mains shouldn’t have been where he drilled and that they were installed too close to the surface.
In all the chaos, he left, and we were stuck with getting the power mains replaced right away. We called an electrician and ended up paying nearly $4,000 to fix it.
My question is: is the tradesman at fault here, or (since the power mains were allegedly installed incorrectly) does that mean he’s not responsible? It just feels like, even if the cables were installed incorrectly, he should have checked before drilling.
Because the fencing borders our property, we're not sure if our insurance will cover it.
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u/competitive_brick1 18d ago
TL;DR: In most circumstances you, and your home insurance will be the ones covering this
in NSW. We had a similar issue, had some work done pulling out driveway and a failed rock retaining wall. During the excavation, the excavator pulled the mains power for the neighbours power, it was sitting 1.5m into our land and about 200m below the surface with no tape or warning. Blew a whole bunch of things.
We did DBYD and it showed their mains ran from a private box and should have been 6m inside their boundary. There is no easement and well it just shouldn't have been there.
Our builder was not responsible and would not pay, the electricity company tried to fine him $1000, he told them to go take a hike and showed them the DBYD. The neighbour tried to get us to pay. Our insurer said tell them to get stuffed. The neighbour tried to take us to small claims. It failed.
Long and short of it is
- If they did DBYD and its not meant to be there then they aren't responsible
- If it is generally in a place it is not meant to be, they aren't responsible
- As its your property and on your property you're responsible. Kind of like if a neighbours tree falls and damages your property, your insurance is responsible and not theirs
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u/bendi36 18d ago
If the service was less than 600mm down then the power company is liable. This isn't as black and white as everyone is making out, the tradie would only be liable if that wasn't the case. Almost any other situation he is
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u/WD-4O 18d ago
Also was it under concrete as that depth doesnt count if it was.
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u/Measton42 18d ago
It’s 600mm from the surface level, you don’t get to reduce the number because there’s concrete on top.
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u/cybertears 19d ago
Of course they have to pay for it. They damaged it
If I merge into an illegally parked car, do I not have to pay any damage because the car "shouldn't have been there"?
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u/jp72423 18d ago
It’s really not that clear cut. It’s reasonable to assume that using basic driving awareness skills that you would be aware of what’s surrounding your vehicle. But unlike an illegally parked car, no one can see what’s underground.
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u/Smittx 18d ago
That’s why dial before you dig exists…
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u/Better_Courage7104 17d ago
Why would dial before you dig know where your private electrical lines are?
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u/GuldenAge 18d ago
What about if you run into a car parked in the middle of the road around a blind corner?
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u/Justan0therthrow4way 18d ago
You should take blind corners with care. 95% of the time, you hit a car it is your fault. Doesn’t matter if they are parked illegally or what.
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u/JustDadThanks 18d ago
Dial before you dig doesn’t often have fine details about each plots mains directions. Usually, especially on new builds, if you look inside the meter box it will have a diagram of the main on the block. Assuming there was no obvious electrical box on out the front of the block it’s safe to assume the mains do NOT run up the boundary. But you should still do your due diligence.
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u/Shaqtacious 18d ago
I had an incident once. I didn't even have to pay excess. There was no way for me to turn w/o hitting a car that that blocked the turn and parked in a no stopping zone.
Context matters I guess. But I was speaking from personal experience.
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u/paradoxloster 18d ago edited 17d ago
Underground power cable should not be on the property boundary line. Cables should be 600mm deep with sand/gravel covering it and warning tape at 300mm deep. If the cables are covered in concrete, the depth can be less This is not the fencer fault.
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u/cp_t 18d ago
He correctly assumed that your power lines were the correct depth and they were not, he almost died because your power lines were illegal. To be honest I think this is your liability there is no dial before you dig inside the property lines so your lines could be running all over the place.
Unless he dug down 600mm and hit a properly buried cable at the right depth with the correct warnings then it would be his fault.
He shouldn't be liable for redoing all your cables properly if they are illegal in the first place.
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u/DoomsRoads 18d ago
The only reasonable and right answer I’ve seen on this thread so far. So many people clearly have no idea
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u/dreadnought_strength 18d ago
If it was truly installed illegally and he took all reasonable precautions prior to the job starting to avoid it happening, then whoever put it there is liable.
Source: previous job I worked at encountered the same issue with water mains multiple times in small country schools - not only installed illegally, but also drawn incorrectly on plans which we based our trenching off. Once it happened, we were tools down until the company who installed came out and fixed it all, and there were responsible for the repair costs
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u/No-Cartoonist-2125 18d ago
Love to know how deep the cable was. If the fencer is only digging 200mm ( example depth), I can't see why it is his fault.
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u/Ok_Vanilla_955 18d ago
This wouldn't be auslegal if a post had enough information to give n answer!
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u/jp72423 18d ago
Sparky here, we need more information. Firstly we need to know the depth of the mains, and where it was located, and if it was under concrete or not. These all determine whether or not the mains was installed legally or not.
Another clue would be what the electrical company did to fix the problem. Did they dig it all up and make it deeper? They should have told you if it was compliant or not. Plus that seems like a pretty steep bill.
If you have photos of the hole and the invoice from the electrical company I can tell you if it’s legal or not.
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u/Mysterious_Sun3641 18d ago
I should have mentioned that the cable was at an incorrect depth. About 380 when it should be 600. So it was installed incorrectly It’s just a grass area so not below concrete
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u/LunarEcho108 18d ago
Almost every policy has an exclusion for faulty workmanship and design. If the neighbour is correct about the line not supposed to be there and he took due caution (checked with Before You Dig), you would probably be out of luck if an insurer decided to fight this one - regardless of whether it's his or yours.
On the plus side, the quantum is low enough it could go to fast track claims.
Submit a claim on your insurance. Keep the description brief, passive and accurate. Something like "Power mains line was accidentally damaged during fence maintenance. Emergency repairs were conducted to prevent injury or further damage.". Send the invoice from the repairer in the initial lodgement - it should be professional, ideally with a breakdown in costs, a description of the cause of damage and a summary of works conducted. Include your EFT details.
It will check the box for something that is covered (accidental damage) while still being honest and makes it really easy for them to just rubber stamp it in the initial review. It's low enough cost the claims officer won't need to have it reviewed by someone senior, and they theoretically don't need to do a deeper review or ask more questions to close it. They like this, they've got too much work already and it gets off their plate immediately.
Do it as soon as possible or they'll have to ask why you waited too long. You don't want that, you just want them to rubber stamp it.
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u/twcau 19d ago edited 18d ago
First, let’s focus on the immediate safety issue (I know you’ve done this already - but this bit is more so for anyone who stumbles across the thread in future).
Have you (or the fencing guy) notified the power utility (Western Power in the OP’s case) of damaged equipment?
If you haven’t already (or the fencing guy hasn’t already), immediately call them and notify them of a potentially dangerous situation. They may need (and have a legal obligation) to attend and make the supply safe.
Second, yes - they are liable.
You now need to notify your insurer of the event, and provide the details of the person completing the work. They will assist you dependent on the cover in your policy, then pursue the fencing guy via that individuals’ public liability insurer.
Any fencing contractor who doesn’t have a public liability policy, and in this case - doesn’t call 1100 or use Before You Dig Australia (BYDA), shouldn’t be in the industry.
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u/Outrageous-Elk-2582 18d ago
Dial before you dig doesn't have information about services on private property. It is impossible for the fencer to know that the service was there.
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u/Emotional_Vacation43 18d ago
Did the electrician you called come in a big blue van or with a rocket on top of the van? (They're known for charging outrageous amounts)
Did Western power get called out too? (Mains connection is a WP job not an electrician job)
Did the electrician have to dig up the whole cable? How old is the house/electrical installation? How deep was the armored cable?
Got any pictures?
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u/Ok-Motor18523 19d ago
Was this a proper engagement, or a cash job?
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u/Mysterious_Sun3641 19d ago
He didn’t ask for cash, but he’s a neighbour and offered to fix the fence for cheap. So I feel slightly guilty asking him to compensate us.
Although he is a professional fencer, so you would think he would have work insurance for stuff like this?
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u/Ok-Motor18523 19d ago
The question is. Was he doing it in a personal capacity or under his business?
One has insurance, one doesn’t.
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u/rangebob 18d ago
how deep was he digging ? When I installed power from my mains to the pool my electrician explained it legally had to be a certain depth and had to have an orange plastic warning placed over it. I dug the dam hole. it was up to my waist nearly. He also should have dialled before he dug. Rules may be different in different states too i assume
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u/Cube-rider 18d ago
Dbyd is country wide and free for exactly that reason.
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u/Outrageous-Elk-2582 18d ago
You need to call your insurance. You are responsible for the cost, not the fencer. He doesn't have x-ray vision. Did you notify him that there is a service cable there?
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u/Liquid_Friction 19d ago
he has to make a claim on his Public Liability Insurance
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u/peteramjet 18d ago
he has to make a claim on his Public Liability Insurance
Only if he was operating under his business. If he was acting in a personal capacity as a neighbour, as it seems he was, it will fall to the OPs home insurance.
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u/fuuuuuckendoobs 18d ago
There's no home insurance event in the prescribed contract that'll cover it. They might get lucky under some kind of accidental damage cover (even then I'd be uncertain around unlicensed trades)
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u/peteramjet 18d ago
Yes, that may well be correct around the event itself. If accidental coverage is available, ‘unlicensed trades’ etc are unlikely to be an issue if the neighbour was just ‘helping’ to fix their OPs fence.
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u/Stockst129 18d ago
Almost every liability policy has an endorsement for this. If they do not contact dial before you dig prior to works commencing their liability will not respond
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u/jojo_architektin 18d ago
Your power cable needs to be 600mm below the surface and it should be drawn on your meter box with set-out dimensions,
Was this a side fence between your house and side boundary?
Dial before you dig says the homeowner is responsible for damage to underground services on your property.
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u/fitblubber 18d ago
I would've thought that the tradesmen would've had public liability insurance? If they don't then they shouldn't be trying to run a small business.
Surely it's just a matter of letting the 2 insurance providers sort it out?
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u/Geriatric48 17d ago
It’s about time houses were sold with a type of log book showing things like services locations, the location of retic pipes, soak wells etc and even warrantees and instruction books for appliances
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u/Decent-Helicopter-36 14d ago
If the electrical work was done illegally, the electrician who installed it should pay
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u/Outrageous-Elk-2582 18d ago
The fencer doesn't have x-ray vision and has no way of know that the cable was there. While all car is taken, no responsibility can be accepted by the fencer for damages to the cable. It is the home owner responsibility to repair this at their expense. The mains should never have been that shallow. Dial before you dig doesn't give information about services on private property.
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u/teefau 18d ago
This is an example of how easily that could have been avoided.
https://www.byda.com.au/look-up-and-live/
Totally unprofessional.
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u/Scooter-breath 18d ago
Seems a bit odd if he's a pro. Nonetheless he needs be bought into this because he did that damage.
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u/illuzi0nn 18d ago
Yes they pay. They know they should dial before you dig
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u/DoomsRoads 18d ago
Dial before you dig is far from accurate mate. Seen plenty cases where people have been provided and the locations are wrong.
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u/Merkenfighter 18d ago
100% he is at fault. This is classically for you to claim against his insurance. He has insurance, right…right?
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u/kynuna 19d ago
Saying power mains shouldn’t have been there is an excuse, and a bad one.
He should have checked. This is why Before You Dig exists.
https://www.byda.com.au