Woman Files Suit Against Landowner For Tree That Fell On Vehicle

A woman has filed suit against Robin Land Company for the personal injuries she and her daughter suffered from a fallen tree owned by the company.

According to the suit Bridget A. McDonie filed on February 12 in West Virginia’s Kanawha Circuit Court, she and her daughter, Gabriel Cochran, were traveling in a 2007 Mazda MX5 when a mature, rotten tree broke off at the stump and landed on the top of the vehicle.

The suit says the defendant owns the land on which the tree was located. The land consisted of “sloping mountainous terrain with numerous large trees,” several of which were dead or decaying, according to the suit.

McDonie says that the impact and damage to her vehicle caused her to be unable to exit the vehicle and she had to be extricated by emergency personnel an hour later. She says her daughter was able to exit her side of the vehicle and had to wait and watch as her mother was extricated, but “feared that her mother was in imminent danger for her life.”

McDonie claims that as a result of the actions of the defendant, she experienced physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and suffering, permanent physical impairment, lost wages and benefits, lost earning capacity and benefits, lost capacity to enjoy life, medical costs, annoyance and inconvenience, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The suit alleges negligence on the part of the defendant for failing in its duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent an unreasonable risk of harm arising from the condition of the trees on the land.