Trial Magazine

A 100-pound branch fell from a tall pine tree in San Francisco’s Washington Square Park, striking Cui Ying Zhou, 35, as she watched her children play. Zhou suffered blunt force trauma to her head and thoracic spine and a head laceration. She underwent surgery and is now paralyzed below the waist. Her medical expenses were approximately $253,000. Because Zhou’s home was not wheelchair accessible, she was forced to move into a care facility.

Zhou sued the city and county of San Francisco and HortScience, Inc., the arborist hired to trim trees in the park before the incident. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants failed to properly trim the trees and perform a proper tree risk assessment by identifying which trees had structural defects.

The defense argued that the branch failure was unforeseeable and that the tree had been assessed and determined to be in good condition.

HortScience settled confidentially. The plaintiff settled with the city and county for $14.5 million.

Citation: Zhou v. San Francisco, No. CGC-16-555523 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cnty. Oct. 2018).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Andje Medina, Jeremy Cloyd, and Craig Peters, all of San Francisco.