Botanic Gardens branch ‘hit tourist like a tornado’

A CANADIAN tourist suffered life-changing injuries after he was hit on the head by a ‘rotten’ branch which fell like a ‘torpedo’ at the National Botanic Gardens, the High Court has heard.

Entrepreneur Mark Quinn, 58, has sued the Office of Public Historical Properties (OPW) following a brain injury he suffered in the accident in Dublin on a windy day in March 2009.

His counsel, Michael Counihan SC said the 200-year-old copper beech tree had been identified as high risk in a survey carried out by the defendants in 2006, but nothing was done to remove the dangerous branches.

He said the Mr Quinn’s tree expert would say that anyone with any experience in plants or trees could see that a number of this Knocked to ground: Mark Quinn tree’s branches were dead, and that the 28kg branch in question had been dead for five years before it fell.

He said Mr Quinn had come to Ireland to visit his Irish-born parents, who spent their winters in Dublin. Mr Quinn was planning to pitch an idea for aerial videos of golf courses to Bord Fáilte, having done the same for a number of courses in the US and Canada.

His father was interested in plants, and the botanic gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin, were a favourite spot to visit, he said.

At around 1pm on a breezy day, with winds gusting to force eight, Mr Quinn was walking on a path near Pine Hill when they reached the ancient copper beech.

‘The plaintiff heard some noise above him, and realised something was going to fall. He pushed his mother out of the way and a limb of the tree, torpedo-shape, struck him on the front of his head, knocking him to the ground,’ counsel said. ‘He fell on his knees. He believes he was rendered unconscious for some moments – he was certainly very dazed and shaken, and unable to get up.’

Mr Quinn’s father came to his aid, followed by the ambulance service, and Mr Quinn was taken to the Mater Hospital, Mr Counihan said. Giving evidence, Mr Quinn said: ‘I remember a rustling sound, and I instinctively pushed my mother out of the way, and I was clobbered by a branch over my left eye.’

He said he felt the full force of the blow, from his skull, through to his eye socket, his jaw, neck and back. ‘There was a lot of fear and anxiety. I tried to get up but I could not,’ he said. Mr Counihan said Mr Quinn suffered a significant head injury, as well as whiplash-style soft tissue injuries to his neck and shoulders.

Mr Quinn was given a CT scan, which did not reveal any abnormalities, but he developed severe headaches. He was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and allowed to fly home, but suffered a blackout several days later. He was treated in a neurological and psychiatric hospital in Can- ada, and an MRI scan in February 2010 identified that Mr Quinn had damage to his frontal lobe, with scarring inside his brain which indicated he had suffered an episode of trauma, the court heard.

Mr Counihan said his client had suffered psychological, cognitive and behavioural problems since.

He said Mr Quinn had developed a depression, fatigue, vertigo, an adjustment disorder and elements of post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said Mr Quinn’s relationship had ended, and his business had been wiped out. He said Mr Quinn was no longer able to focus on projects, and was claiming for loss of earnings. He was now living in the basement of his parents’ home in Ontario.

Defendants the OPW disputes liability, and claims that the effects of Mr Quinn’s head injury are not as severe as he claimed, the court heard. The tree has since been felled, and replaced with statues.

The case continues before Judge Bronagh O’Hanlon.

‘Life-changing injuries’