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A U.S. Navy veteran is suing after a 16-pound pine cone fell on his head and damaged his skull at a federal park in San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Sean Mace visited the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park on Oct. 12, 2014, to watch the Blue Angels air show. He then decided to take a nap under a tree until he was awoken by an enormous pine cone that hit his head and crushed his skull. He was rushed to the hospital where he “underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from internal bleeding,” the lawsuit states.
“This guy has an irreversible brain injury and he’s only in his mid-50s,” Scott Johnson, a San Francisco attorney representing Mace, told the Chronicle. “He’s had two surgeries already and he is going to need a third.”
Mace is suing the U.S. government, the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park for $5 million. The lawsuit claims that there should have been warning signs posted or safety hazards to prevent people from going underneath the tree.
The tree that caused Mace’s injuries was a coniferous Araucaria bidwillii tree, where its pine cones can grow up to 16 inches wide and weigh up to 40 pounds.
“First and foremost, the Park Service needs to do something to make sure this never happens again,” Johnson told the Chronicle. “This park is full of tourists and schoolchildren. Something needs to change.”
Since the incident, the park has placed orange plastic fences around the tree grove with signs stating, “Danger: Giant seed pod falling free tree.”
Johnson told the Chronicle that Mace suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident and depression.
“He’s afraid to go outside at this point because he’s afraid something is going to hit him in the head,” Johnson told the Chronicle. “Our priority is to institute change and help this guy out. He was doing pretty well before the accident, and now he is completely dependent and will likely need lifetime care.”
Read more at sfgate.com
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