TREE LIMB IN N.Y.C.'S CENTRAL PARK FALLS SUDDENLY AND KILLS BABY, INJURES MOTHER

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Accident Attorney)

In a horrible fatal accident on Saturday, June 26, 2010, at about 2:00 PM, a six month-old baby girl and her mother, age 33, were in Manhattan's Central Park Zoo on a family outing. As the baby's father prepared to photograph baby and mother, there was a "snap," and a branch broke off a tree and dropped on top of the two.

They were rushed to New York City's NewYork-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center where the baby was declared dead and the mother treated for head and neck injuries sustained in this accident. The child was identified as Gianna Riccuitti of Union City, New Jersey; the mother as Karla Ricciutti. It is unclear whether the branch killed the baby directly, or if she died when her mother -- injured, hurt and bleeding -- dropped her.

Present in the zoo were a nurse and another witness who attempted first aid and CPR, but were unable to revive little Gianna.

Comment:Is anyone legally responsible for this fatal accident? Did the City of New York fail in its duty to these visitors to Manhattan? Did the N.Y.C. Parks Dept. fail to inspect the tree? Should it have? The tree was within the Central Park Zoo, which is run by the non-profit Wildlife Conservation Society. Is that charity, which does good work in protecting our environment and natural resources, to be held to task in a court of law for this horrible accident?