Man injured in 2020 fallen tree limb at McKinley Park awarded $33 million by jury

A jury awarded a man over $30 million dollars six years after a tree limb fell on him at McKinley Park in Sacramento, leaving him with a devastating brain injury. His attorneys say that the city could have done more to prevent something like this from happening.

Michael Flynn was 28 and working towards earning his PHD in theoretical physics when the 30-foot-long dead tree limb fell over 27 feet onto him, fracturing his skull and changing his life forever.

"I look back on the period immediately following the accident. It was an extremely bleak period of my life. It was, very hard," Flynn said.

Despite the severity of his injuries, Flynn was able to earn his doctorate — but he says the incident permanently altered his career and life plans. 

"Not a day goes by, not an hour goes by, that I don't feel the consequences of that accident. It was absolutely terrible," Flynn said.

After a trial, a jury found that the city was 100% responsible and awarded Flynn $33.3 million in damages, filed on Oct. 9. His legal team said the tree limb had been dead for multiple years, and could have been attended to if the city conducted routine tree inspections.

"They were actually relying on users of the park to report problems," Flynn's attorney Robert Buccola said. 

CBS Sacramento asked the city what changes, if any, it has made since the incident took place. Sacramento City Manager Maraskeshia Smith said in a statement that this was a "tragic incident and we recognize the significant impact it has had on the individua and their family," but did not say if the city had implemented any policy changes resulting from what happened.

Flynn wants the community to know it does not have to tolerate dangerous public spaces.

"The city has a responsibility to look after the people who live in it," Flynn said.