New York Personal Injury News & NYC Legal Current Events

Falling Branch Kills Baby In NYC’s Central Park Zoo

The father of a six-month-old baby killed by a falling tree limb in New York’s Central Park Zoo is planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against New York City.

Last weekend, Michael Ricciutti, his wife Karla, and his infant daughter Gianna were walking in Manhattan’s Central Park and stopped to take a picture when a large tree branch fell on mother and daughter. The baby was killed in the tree limb accident while Karla was rushed to the hospital with facial injuries and brain damage, where she still remains in critical but stable condition.

New York City authorities are trying to determine who was responsible for caring for the Central Park trees. Most of the over 25,000 trees in the giant park are the responsibility of the nonprofit group Central Park Conservatory, which has been deferring questions about their involvement in the matter to others. Some believe the care of the tree may have been the responsibility of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the park’s zoo where the fatal tree limb accident took place, but that group, too, has not claimed responsibility. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes that the incident was no more than a tragic accident, but two other serious and similar accidents involving tree branches has many wondering if this problem can’t be stopped or minimized.

Currently, the Central Park Conservatory spends over half a million dollars on tree maintenance each year.

Read More About Falling Branch Kills Baby In NYC’s Central Park Zoo...

back to top