A gardener left paralysed after a horrifying fall at a luxury Surrey estate has lost his High Court bid for more than £1 million in damages.
Barry Relph, 59, suffered a devastating spinal injury when he toppled from a step ladder in January 2021 while trimming trees at a £2.3 million mansion belonging to financier John Meager and his wife Joanna.
High Court Dismisses £1m Compensation Claim Over Surrey Ladder Fall
The fall, which occurred during routine garden maintenance at the couple’s opulent home in Chipstead, left Mr Relph confined to a wheelchair. He claimed the Meagers should have hired a professional tree surgeon to handle the job, arguing it would have cost only “a few hundred pounds” to avoid the life-altering accident.
“Working with trees is a fundamentally hazardous activity and that’s why specialist contractors do the work,” his barrister Stephen Killalea KC told London’s High Court.
But in a significant ruling last week, Judge Andrew Kinnier KC dismissed the claim, stating that Mr Relph was not employed by the couple he was a self-employed gardener, free to decide how and when to work.
Mansion Maintenance Turns Into Legal Tug-of-War
Oak Lodge, the sprawling estate where the accident occurred, features manicured gardens, a tennis court, and a swimming pool. The court heard that Mr Meager a top executive at Coremont, a London investment firm had allegedly asked for branches to be trimmed to prevent birds from fouling the tennis court.
Mr Relph and a fellow gardener took on the job, using their own tools and devising their own plan. But tragedy struck when a falling branch reportedly hit the ladder, causing it to shake violently and send Mr Relph crashing down.
“It should clearly have been conducted by a specialist,” said Mr Killalea. “It might have cost several hundred pounds to have done so, but that’s the price it takes to maintain a property of that magnificence.”
Mr Relph launched a legal challenge for compensation, claiming the Meagers had acted negligently by not bringing in trained professionals for the work.
Judge: No Employer-Employee Relationship Existed
However, the court sided with the Meagers, concluding that Mr Relph operated independently.
- He supplied his own tools
- Worked part-time over two years
- Was paid by his colleague, not directly by the Meagers
- Maintained the freedom to work for others
“I am satisfied that the weight of the evidence points clearly towards a finding that Mr Relph and [his colleague] were both independent contractors. They were not the Meagers’ employees,” Judge Kinnier ruled.
The court also found that the two men did not believe the job required a tree surgeon, contradicting Mr Relph’s legal argument.
A Harsh Blow for the Injured Gardener
The outcome leaves Mr Relph with no legal compensation, despite his life-changing injuries. While the judge expressed sympathy for the “tragic consequences” of the accident, he ultimately ruled that there was no legal basis to hold the Meagers liable.
It’s a bitter end to a heartbreaking case one that highlights the legal complexities around workplace status and responsibility in domestic settings.
This case is likely to spark fresh debate over the duty of care owed by homeowners to freelancers working on their property particularly in high-risk tasks like tree surgery.
