Tree crash victim dies in hospital

MUMBAI: A Mira Road resident died five days after he suffered severe injuries when a tree crashed on him outside his Andheri (E) office building. The family of the deceased, C K Gopalakrishnan(37), claimed the tree-fall incident was due to BMC negligence.
But BMC’s garden department claimed they had trimmed the tree a fortnight before the incident. They claimed the civic stormwater drain department had damaged the tree’s roots during drain work, and alleged it triggered the crash.

“There was neither any rain nor speedy wind on that day, still the tree fell and killed my brother. The BMC should accept its negligence in the case. This is utter carelessness,” Gopalakrishnan’s brother C K Hariharan told TOI. Civic officials had visited Gopalakrishnan on May 19, a day after the incident, and enquired about his health.
On May 18 evening, Gopalakrishnan, an employee at a logistics firm, stepped out of his office in the Pinnacle Park building on Mahakali Caves Road and was waiting to hail an autorickshaw, when the tree snapped and fell on him and two other pedestrians. A parked car was also damaged in the incident.
TOI, in its May 20 edition, had reported the Andheri tree crash.
While the two pedestrians suffered minor injuries, Gopalakrishnan was rushed to the nearby Holy Spirit Hospital; he was not able to feel any sensation from his chest upto the lower part of his body. The next day, he underwent a surgery for injury to his spinal cord. “There were multiple injuries and he was in the ICU,” said Hariharan. “Our mother said she would see him after he is discharged from hospital, but unfortunately he passed away on May 23 at 1.24 pm.” Gopalakrishnan lived with his 71-yearold mother in Mira Road.
The family spent almost Rs 7.5 lakh for his medical treatment. “According to the BMC policy, a person injured due to a tree fall is given Rs 50,000 compensation and while the kin of deceased is given Rs 1 lakh,” said a senior civic official.