Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

All that this man wanted to do was watch the Blue Angels.

Q: Why are there so many toxic waste dumps in New Jersey and so many lawyers in California?

A: “Jersey” got “first pick!”

SFGate.com tells it THIS way:

A tourist visiting the Bay Area for Fleet Week last year was doing nothing more than reading and napping under a tree in a federal waterfront park in San Francisco when a 16-pound pine cone fell on him and crushed his skull, his lawyer said Monday.

Now, Sean Mace, a U.S. Navy veteran, is suing the U.S. government, the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park where he was injured for $5 million in the hopes of changing policies so that no one else falls victim to the same type of bizarre incident.

“This guy has an irreversible brain injury and he’s only in his mid-50s,” said Scott Johnson, a San Francisco attorney representing Mace in the lawsuit. “He’s had two surgeries already and he is going to need a third.”

And this is the fault of the U.S. government, the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park BECAUSE…?

My photography business has business liability insurance, because anyone who would sue because he chose to PUT himself under a pine tree with huge seed pods would not bat an eye at suing anyone else. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of people like this unfortunate veteran.

SFGate continues:

Mace went to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at the Fort Mason Center on Oct. 12, 2014, to find a spot to watch the Blue Angels air show. He found himself what he thought was a peaceful place to read and rest in the northeast corner of the park under a stand of coniferous Araucaria bidwillii trees, more commonly known as bunya pines or false monkey puzzle trees, according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 4 in San Francisco federal court.

Bunya pines are not indigenous to the area, the lawsuit notes, and the trees in question are thought to have been planted by park staff years ago. Their seedpods, or pine cones, can grow to enormous sizes, reaching nearly 16 inches in diameter and weighing up to 40 pounds.

As Mace snoozed beneath the tree, one of the pods broke loose and landed on his head, crushing his skull, according to court documents.

He suffered “traumatic brain injury, with severe and likely irreversible cognitive deficits,” according to court papers.

The suit alleges that there were no warning signs posted and no fences or netting to prevent people from hanging out under the trees, violating numerous park policies requiring the removal of exotic species that create safety hazards and mandating the installation of warning signs “necessary for visitor safety.”

“First and foremost, the Park Service needs to do something to make sure this never happens again,” Johnson said. “This park is full of tourists and schoolchildren. Something needs to change.”

Some changes have already been implemented. Orange plastic fences have been erected around the grove with signs warning, “Danger: Giant seed pod falling from tree.”

OK, maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else out there think that this guy should merely be talking to his insurance company about care instead of SUING organizations that will ultimately pass on the costs to ALL of us? I mean, he CHOSE to read and snooze under the trees, in much the same way as we CHOOSE to get into our cars or on our bicycles or on paths up to Half Dome or any of the other potentially dangerous things that we choose to do.

Granted that people don’t always THINK about things falling on their heads. But whose fault is this REALLY, if anyone’s?

Johnson said his client has been severely affected by the incident and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

“He’s afraid to go outside at this point because he’s afraid something is going to hit him in the head,” Johnson said. “Our priority is to institute change and help this guy out. He was doing pretty well before the accident, and now he is completely dependent and will likely need lifetime care.”

Representatives from the U.S. attorney’s office and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park did not return requests for comment on the case.

Can you BLAME them?

-Bill at