Sean Mace is claiming financial damages of $5m (£3.2m) for personal injury and losses caused by “the negligent or wrongful act of omission of any employee”.
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Sean Mace was napping and reading underneath a pine tree at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park when the 16-pound pine cone fell, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
A military veteran who said his skull was crushed by a 16-pound (7-kg) pine cone as he rested in the shade of a conifer grove at a San Francisco park has sued the US government, saying employee negligence led to his injuries.
Immediately following the incident, Mace was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.
“This guy has an irreversible brain injury and he’s only in his mid-50s”.
“This guy has an irreversible brain injury and he’s only in his mid-50s”, Johnson tells the Chron, and in a court filing writes that Mace has “severe and likely irreversible cognitive deficits” as a result of his injuries.
Mr Johnson alleges that there were no warning signs about falling pine cones in the park – and that officials should have known about the danger and prevented tourists from resting under the trees.
Mace went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at the Fort Mason Center on October. 12, 2014, to find a spot to watch the Blue Angels air show.
George Wilhelm/LA Times via Getty Images The coniferous bunya trees’ seed pods can weigh more than 40 pounds.
‘First and foremost, the Park Service needs to do something to make sure this never happens again, ‘ he said.
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The trees responsible are not native to the area and were allegedly planted by the park staff. The suit says that the park failed to post any signs that would warn park goers and that it was “violating numerous park policies requiring the removal of exotic species that create safety hazards”, according to according to SF Gate. “Something needs to change”.
