Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog
A tragic DC traffic crash last Wednesday evening has claimed the life of a 41-year-old man. Oswaldo Hernandez-Cruz, a roofer, and three friends were headed to a job where they would be clearing snow all night when the pickup truck they were riding was struck by a falling tree.
The vehicle was stuck in DC traffic when the tree collapsed. The other three people in the truck, a wife and husband and another man, also sustained injuries, as did two people riding in another car that the tree’s braches also struck. The DC injury accident occurred in the 1700 block of Military Road NW. Hernandez-Cruz leaves behind his wife and three children.
Falling Tree Accidents
Falling trees or even just their tree branches can cause serious injuries. In 2008, a woman, Kay Plyler, died when a tree fell on the car that she and her teen daughter were riding. In 2009, a jury awarded one man 1.7 million for injuries he suffered when a tree fell on the vehicle he and his wife were riding in 2006. Mieczyslaw Wisniewski sustained numerous injuries and neck fractures. In 2007, 49-year-old Michael Gandy died when a giant tree fell onto his van. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit blaming the city for improperly cutting the trees roots and causing it to become unstable. There have also been tragic falling tree accidents involving a pedestrian or bystander injured or killed by a falling tree branch.
Property owners must make sure that trees on their premise are properly maintained. There may be more than one party who can/should be held liable for Washington DC personal injury.
Tree kills man in car waiting in bad traffic, The Washington Post, January 28, 2011
Settlement Reached In Wrongful Death Lawsuit, WSOCTV, December 7, 2009
Falling Tree, Lawyers and Settlements, February 27, 2008
Related Web Resource:
Premises Liability, Nolo
More Blog Posts:
Escalator Malfunction at DC Metro Station Injures Four, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, October 31, 2010
Six-Year-Old Girl Dies in Washington DC Drowning Accident at Turkey Thicket Pool, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, July 12, 2010
Washington DC Slip and Fall Accidents Can Cause Hip Injuries, Broken Bones, a Strained Back, and Other Painful Injuries, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, February 23, 2010
Contact our DC injury law firm to determine whether you have grounds for a Washington DC premises liability case.