[Kristen]

Sure. But that's negligence. I'm not advocating the Lotty Group not taking due care and attention over maintenance etc. but if they had it regularly serviced, a clear set of instructions, provision of proper gloves and goggles and so on, why should they be accountable for anything beyond that?

It just seems that nowadays good, honest, folk won't do things that seem to be pretty normal to most ordinary folk - like providing a communal rotavator for the Lotty Group - because it seems to them to be likely that they will have to defend themselves against a trumped up charge. I think that the law, in its current state, is making people very shy about doing things that would, in general, be helpful.

On balance it surely has to be Lotty Group's members' loss that they don't have a communal rotavator, don't you think?

[PennyS]

Gosh this is a bit of a hornet's nest isn't it!

I was chatting with my friendly broker about the insurance side.  As he put it, a couple of years ago he would have said there was a really neglible risk of being sued over a communal rotavator accident.  With the way things are now he'd say it's different.

People are just far more likely these days to "have a go" and sue if there's a chance of money at the end.  Sad but true.

[2peasinapod]

Just a thought but,
if everyone who wanted to use the rotovater owned a share, then they would be using their own equipment.
maintainance can be done vai a local specialist.
all would put say £10 into a kitty for costs to be topped up as and when.

[mower man]

I find this subject very interesting, as I am chairman of our allotments and we have a honda lawnmower, as well as 3 strimmers which any of our members can use
All we charge is .50p to cover petrol cost

We have a sign on the shed door stating all members use at own risk

I guess we are at risk of being sued should something go wrong, but I also let members use any of my equipment for free  !!  except for my chainsaws

Can anyone sue me if I dont charge them ??

I bet many allotments do a similer thing to this

[Slowgrind]

Try to hire a chainsaw from a hire company these days and see how far you get. You can buy them for your own use but the potential to cause harm to people has become too great for hire companies to keep them. As I've said on here before you couldn't trust some people with a cement mixer for fear of them getting caught up in the drum!

[peterjf]

our allotment assoc has resently been awarded £3800 to buy communial machines

2 rotovators, 2 strimmers and an hedge trimmer , all nice and secured in a 2nd hand 20 foot shipping container ,

members book them out , sign an insurance waiver, then return the machinery within 4 hours ,