Man Sues After 16 lb Pine Cone Falls on His Head

Sean Mace, 51, had his skull crushed in when a 16-pound pine cone fell on him as he napped in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, his lawyer said.

The lawsuit, filed September 4 in San Francisco federal court, alleges Washington state resident Sean Mace was napping under a tree in San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park October 12 of past year when a 16-pound seed pod, or pine cone, fell from a coniferous Araucaria bidwillii tree and landed on his head.

“He’s a wreck. He has an overwhelming fear and anxiety of going outside”.

But while a fix to the Park might be easy, solving Mace’s problems will prove more challenging, Johnson tells the Chron. “It’s an emotional roller-coaster for him on a daily basis”.

The newspaper said Mace, who is thought to be in his 50s, had chosen the waterfront park to try to find a quiet spot to watch the Blue Angels air show during last year’s Bay Area Fleet Week.

The veteran needed three surgeries, including one to remove a huge portion of his skull to reduce hemorrhaging, Johnson said.

As a result of the incident, Mace said he now suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The National Park Service says it doesn’t comment on ongoing court cases.

“He is constantly forgetting what happened within the first one hour, what happened that morning”, Johnson said.

Surely I’m not the only person who assumed that the above sign, posted to a fence at an Francisco’s Maritime National Historical Park, was a few sort of art prank, like the activities of the Billboard Liberation Front or that No Tech Zone guy.

Sean Mace claims park staff who planted the trees decades ago knew there was a high risk of injury to anyone below them.

The grove with the tree in question has been fenced off and officials have added signs warning “Danger: Giant seed pod falling from tree”.

“This guy has an irreversible brain injury and he’s only in his mid-50s”, said Johnson.