16 Pound Pine Cone,A day-tripper visiting the Bay Breadth for Fleet Week endure year was accomplishing annihilation added than account and comatose below a timberline in a federal beach esplanade in San Francisco if a 16-pound ache cone fell on him and ashamed his skull, his advocate said Monday.
Now, Sean Mace, a U.S. Navy veteran, is suing the U.S. government, the National Esplanade Service, the Department of the Interior and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Esplanade breadth he was afflicted for $5 actor in the hopes of alteration behavior so that no one abroad avalanche victim to the aforementioned blazon of camp incident.
“This guy has an irreversible academician abrasion and he’s alone in his mid-50s,” said Scott Johnson, a San Francisco advocate apery Mace in the lawsuit. “He’s had two surgeries already and he is traveling to charge a third.”
Mace went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Esplanade at the Fort Mason Center on Oct. 12, 2014, to acquisition a atom to watch the Blue Angels air show. He begin himself what he anticipation was a peaceful abode to apprehend and blow in the northeast bend of the esplanade below a angle of coniferous Araucaria bidwillii trees, added frequently accepted as bunya pines or apocryphal monkey addle trees, according to the accusation filed Sept. 4 in San Francisco federal court.
Bunya pines are not aboriginal to the area, the accusation notes, and the copse in catechism are anticipation to accept been buried by esplanade agents years ago. Their seedpods, or ache cones, can abound to astronomic sizes, extensive about 16 inches in bore and belief up to 40 pounds.
As Mace snoozed below the tree, one of the pods bankrupt apart and landed on his head, crushing his skull, according to cloister documents.
Mace was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, breadth he underwent anaplasty to abate burden on his academician from centralized bleeding. Five canicule later, addition anaplasty was appropriate to added abate burden architecture central his skull, the accusation reads.
He suffered “traumatic academician injury, with astringent and acceptable irreversible cerebral deficits,” according to cloister papers.
The clothing alleges that there were no admonishing signs acquaint and no fences or applique to anticipate humans from blind out below the trees, actionable abundant esplanade behavior acute the abatement of alien breed that actualize assurance hazards and mandating the accession of admonishing signs “necessary for company safety.”
“First and foremost, the Esplanade Service needs to do something to accomplish abiding this never happens again,” Johnson said. “This esplanade is abounding of tourists and schoolchildren. Something needs to change.”Some changes accept already been implemented. Orange artificial fences accept been erected about the bracken with signs warning, “Danger: Giant berry pod falling from tree.”
But Joe Barlow, a artery artisan who paints portraits abreast the grove, said he’s apparent the cones abatement from branches that adhere over the sidewalk alfresco of the fencing, in one instance landing alarmingly abutting to tourists.“It just absent them,” Barlow said Monday. “And it’s not just the admeasurement of them either. They’re big, but they’re absolutely abundant and they accept these spikes on the alfresco like a pineapple.”
Johnson said his applicant has been acutely afflicted by the adventure and now suffers from post-traumatic accent ataxia and depression.
“He’s abashed to go alfresco at this point because he’s abashed something is traveling to hit him in the head,” Johnson said. “Our antecedence is to convention change and advice this guy out. He was accomplishing appealing able-bodied afore the accident, and now he is absolutely abased and will acceptable charge lifetime care.”
Representatives from the U.S. attorney’s appointment and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Esplanade did not acknowledgment requests for animadversion on the case.
Now, Sean Mace, a U.S. Navy veteran, is suing the U.S. government, the National Esplanade Service, the Department of the Interior and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Esplanade breadth he was afflicted for $5 actor in the hopes of alteration behavior so that no one abroad avalanche victim to the aforementioned blazon of camp incident.
“This guy has an irreversible academician abrasion and he’s alone in his mid-50s,” said Scott Johnson, a San Francisco advocate apery Mace in the lawsuit. “He’s had two surgeries already and he is traveling to charge a third.”
Mace went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Esplanade at the Fort Mason Center on Oct. 12, 2014, to acquisition a atom to watch the Blue Angels air show. He begin himself what he anticipation was a peaceful abode to apprehend and blow in the northeast bend of the esplanade below a angle of coniferous Araucaria bidwillii trees, added frequently accepted as bunya pines or apocryphal monkey addle trees, according to the accusation filed Sept. 4 in San Francisco federal court.
Bunya pines are not aboriginal to the area, the accusation notes, and the copse in catechism are anticipation to accept been buried by esplanade agents years ago. Their seedpods, or ache cones, can abound to astronomic sizes, extensive about 16 inches in bore and belief up to 40 pounds.
As Mace snoozed below the tree, one of the pods bankrupt apart and landed on his head, crushing his skull, according to cloister documents.
Mace was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, breadth he underwent anaplasty to abate burden on his academician from centralized bleeding. Five canicule later, addition anaplasty was appropriate to added abate burden architecture central his skull, the accusation reads.
He suffered “traumatic academician injury, with astringent and acceptable irreversible cerebral deficits,” according to cloister papers.
The clothing alleges that there were no admonishing signs acquaint and no fences or applique to anticipate humans from blind out below the trees, actionable abundant esplanade behavior acute the abatement of alien breed that actualize assurance hazards and mandating the accession of admonishing signs “necessary for company safety.”
“First and foremost, the Esplanade Service needs to do something to accomplish abiding this never happens again,” Johnson said. “This esplanade is abounding of tourists and schoolchildren. Something needs to change.”Some changes accept already been implemented. Orange artificial fences accept been erected about the bracken with signs warning, “Danger: Giant berry pod falling from tree.”
But Joe Barlow, a artery artisan who paints portraits abreast the grove, said he’s apparent the cones abatement from branches that adhere over the sidewalk alfresco of the fencing, in one instance landing alarmingly abutting to tourists.“It just absent them,” Barlow said Monday. “And it’s not just the admeasurement of them either. They’re big, but they’re absolutely abundant and they accept these spikes on the alfresco like a pineapple.”
Johnson said his applicant has been acutely afflicted by the adventure and now suffers from post-traumatic accent ataxia and depression.
“He’s abashed to go alfresco at this point because he’s abashed something is traveling to hit him in the head,” Johnson said. “Our antecedence is to convention change and advice this guy out. He was accomplishing appealing able-bodied afore the accident, and now he is absolutely abased and will acceptable charge lifetime care.”
Representatives from the U.S. attorney’s appointment and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Esplanade did not acknowledgment requests for animadversion on the case.
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