A lawsuit has been officially filed against the city of New Orleans on behalf of a family whose child was injured by a falling tree in Jackson Square. Morris Bart filed the lawsuit on Wednesday. The lawsuit names the City of New Orleans, Bayou Tree Services, ArborPro, Smith Construction Company and Hudson Insurance Company. The lawsuit alleges that the tree was damaged during a construction project. This project, Jackson Square Improvement Phase III, dates back to August 2017. According to the lawsuit, ArborPro Inc, a forestry consulting firm, was hired by the city for a year to inspect trees in the city, specifically the trees in Jackson Square, in 2017. The lawsuit says ArborPro inspected all of the trees on Jackson Square rated on a scale from good to critical. The trees classified as critical would then be recommended for removal. In 2019, the lawsuit alleges that work ArborPro agreed to was not completed and that information about the condition of the trees may not have been reported to the city. The lawsuit also alleges that the city hired another company to evaluate the trees prior to ArborPro in 2016. This company, Bayou Tree Services, has been hired by the city to perform similar work. The lawsuit alleges that the contract between the city and Bayou Tree Services was renewed each year and overlapped with ArborPro’s contract. When the Jackson Square improvement project began, Bayou Tree Services provided guidelines for pruning and tree removal during construction. According to the lawsuit, Bayou Tree Services would have been responsible for assessing potential tree damage during the completion of the Jackson Square Improvement Phase II project. Construction was carried out by Smith Construction Company, and the lawsuit alleges that the company tended to the trees in Jackson Square during construction and purchased insurance for the project. The lawsuit alleges that the tree that injured the boy showed no signs of decay in the years leading up to the Jackson Square Improvement project. According to the lawsuit, the tree had a full crown in satellite imagery. According to the lawsuit, the tree only started shedding spirals and greenery after the construction project, before eventually shedding branches. According to the lawsuit, additional satellite imagery from 2018 showed the tree’s demise. The lawsuit alleges the images show the tree is visually in worse condition than the surrounding trees. The lawsuit alleges that the tree was in poor condition at the time Arbor Pro and Bayou Trees Services completed the assessments. The lawsuit alleges both companies failed to identify the tree in a state of decay. On June 27, the first branch fell from the tree. The lawsuit alleges that Bayou Tree Services conducted an inspection of the tree on June 27-28 after the first branch fell. According to the lawsuit, Bayou Tree Services’ inspection overlapped with a recent ArborPro inspection, and the results were conflicting. The lawsuit alleges that Arbor Pro and Bayou Tree Services failed to provide the city with accurate information about the health of the tree in advance of the second limb falling. The family alleges in the lawsuit that they were sitting on a bench in Jackson Square on July 7 when the second link fell, hitting the 16-year-old boy. According to the family, there was no clue as to the condition of the tree and the tree had not been lowered. The family believes that all companies involved in the construction project and tree assessment acted negligently and failed to fix the problem with the tree and warn the public of its danger. The family is seeking compensation for the costs incurred due to the extent of the boy’s injuries. The lawsuit alleges the boy sustained “catastrophic injuries to his brain, skull, face, spine and other areas of his body.” The family is also demanding damages for emotional distress. The family issued the following statement on the lawsuit: “Regarding the accident: It was avoidable, it should not have happened and cannot happen again. We visited a major tourist attraction. How can a visitor feel safe anywhere? It shouldn’t.” We took note of the tree that crushed our child so the city would take it seriously. “There are so many unknowns about our son’s condition right now.” We don’t even know how bad his brain is damaged and we already know he has many more surgeries ahead of him. “It’s been a rollercoaster ride and every time it seems like things are going well, there’s a setback and they’re back to square one.” A press conference on the lawsuit is scheduled for 1 p.m
NEW ORLEANS –
A lawsuit has been officially filed against the city of New Orleans on behalf of a family whose child was injured by a falling tree in Jackson Square.
Morris Bart filed the lawsuit on Wednesday.
The lawsuit names the City of New Orleans, Bayou Tree Services, ArborPro, Smith Construction Company and Hudson Insurance Company.
The lawsuit alleges that the tree was damaged during a construction project.
This project, Jackson Square Improvement Phase III, dates back to August 2017.
According to the lawsuit, ArborPro Inc, a forestry consulting firm, was hired by the city for a year to inspect trees in the city in 2017, specifically the trees in Jackson Square.
The lawsuit said ArborPro rated all of the trees in Jackson Square on a scale from “good condition” to “critical condition.” The trees classified as critical would then be recommended for removal.
In 2019, the lawsuit alleges that work ArborPro agreed to was not completed and that information about the condition of the trees may not have been reported to the city.
The lawsuit also alleges that the city hired another company to evaluate the trees prior to ArborPro in 2016.
This company, Bayou Tree Services, has been hired by the city to perform similar work. The lawsuit alleges that the contract between the city and Bayou Tree Services was renewed each year and overlapped with ArborPro’s contract.
When the Jackson Square improvement project began, Bayou Tree Services provided guidelines for pruning and tree removal during construction.
According to the lawsuit, Bayou Tree Services would have been responsible for assessing potential tree damage during the completion of the Jackson Square Improvement Phase II project.
Construction was carried out by Smith Construction Company, and the lawsuit alleges that the company tended to the trees in Jackson Square during construction and purchased insurance for the project.
The lawsuit alleges that the tree that injured the boy showed no signs of decay in the years leading up to the Jackson Square Improvement project. According to the lawsuit, the tree had a full crown in satellite imagery.
According to the lawsuit, the tree only started shedding spirals and greenery after the construction project, before eventually shedding branches.
According to the lawsuit, additional satellite imagery from 2018 showed the tree’s demise. The lawsuit alleges the images show the tree is visually in worse condition than the surrounding trees.
The lawsuit alleges that the tree was in poor condition at the time Arbor Pro and Bayou Trees Services completed the assessments.
The lawsuit alleges both companies failed to identify the tree in a state of decay.
On June 27, the first branch fell from the tree.
The lawsuit alleges that Bayou Tree Services conducted an inspection of the tree on June 27-28 after the first branch fell.
According to the lawsuit, Bayou Tree Services’ inspection overlapped with a recent ArborPro inspection, and the results were conflicting.
The lawsuit alleges that Arbor Pro and Bayou Tree Services failed to provide the city with accurate information on the tree’s health prior to the fall of the second branch.
The family alleges in the lawsuit that they were sitting on a bench in Jackson Square on July 7 when the second link fell, hitting the 16-year-old boy.
According to the family, there was no clue as to the condition of the tree and the tree had not been lowered.
The family believes that all companies involved in the construction project and tree assessment acted negligently and failed to fix the problem with the tree and warn the public of its danger.
The family is seeking compensation for the costs incurred due to the extent of the boy’s injuries.
The lawsuit alleges the boy sustained “catastrophic injuries to his brain, skull, face, spine and other areas of his body.”
The family is also seeking damages for emotional distress.
The family made the following statement about the lawsuit:
“As for the accident, it was avoidable, it shouldn’t have happened and it can’t happen again. We were visiting a major tourist attraction. How can a visitor feel safe anywhere? It shouldn’t have brought the tree that crushed our kid into town.” to take that seriously.
“Regarding the condition of our son, there are so many unknowns right now. We don’t even know how bad the damage to his brain is, and we already know he has so many more surgeries ahead of him.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride and every time it seems like things are going well, there’s a setback and they’re back to square one.”
A press conference on the lawsuit is scheduled for 1 p.m
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