SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
A UC Davis graduate has been awarded $33.3 million after a jury found the city of Sacramento liable for a fallen tree limb that caused him to suffer a traumatic brain injury in McKinley Park in April 2020.
Michael Flynn is an MIT graduate who was studying physics and quantum computing as a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis.
Flynn said his life changed while out for a jog at McKinley Park. A massive dead tree limb fell 26 feet, crushing the then 28-year-old.
“I woke up in the hospital about three days later,” Flynn said. “I was hit so hard that part of my skull had to be removed.”
At the time of the accident, Flynn was six months to a year away from completing his Ph.D. program.
He needed two surgeries, at least 10 CT scans, and saw at least half a dozen specialists after he suffered a traumatic brain injury.
“He’s never going to be able to be employed in the same field, in the same way that he would have been had this not happened to him,” said Jason Sigel, Flynn’s attorney.
Flynn’s legal team filed a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento, and a jury determined the city was liable, according to the attorney.
“The jury returned a verdict finding the city of Sacramento 100% liable for what happened. They found that the limb had been dead long enough for the city to see it and remove it, had they had reasonable inspection practices,” Sigel said.
In a statement to KCRA, Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan said, “This was a tragic incident, and we recognize the significant impact it has had on the individual and their family. Sacramento’s urban forest provides valuable benefits to our community, and we are committed to caring for our trees and helping keep our parks and public spaces safe for everyone.”
Flynn went on to earn his doctorate from UC Davis, but says his brain doesn’t function as it did before the accident.
“I’m going to face serious limitations the rest of my life. All of the things that I had wanted for myself are out of reach,” Flynn said. “It’s unrealistic to imagine that I’ll be able to achieve what I had hoped to before the accident.”
While Flynn said the financial award will provide stability, he hopes the city will take steps to improve the maintenance of its public parks.
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