BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - The City of Billings has settled a lawsuit filed by a man who suffered severe injuries after being struck by a falling tree branch in a city park.
Dave Myers settled his lawsuit for $370,000, The Billings Gazette reported. The city admitted no wrongdoing.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial on Tuesday.
Myers and his wife were on a blanket for an outdoor movie at Veterans Park in June 2017 when a limb from a cottonwood tree broke off at hit him. He suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung, his lawsuit alleged.
He underwent two operations. An infection developed into septic shock and Myers spent nearly a month in the hospital, court records said.
Myers’ attorney said his client incurred nearly $463,000 in medical bills. Attorneys for the city said that amount was overstated.
Attorney Veronica Procter argued the city didn’t do enough to ensure the tree was safe.
The city argued the broken branch was a natural failure that couldn’t have been foreseen. An arborist had inspected the tree a month earlier and deemed it safe for a youth tree-climbing event, the city said.
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