Paralyzed Mother Sues Homeowner After Tree Crushes Her SUV

In a tragic incident last month, a 32-year-old mother named Maisie Marsau was left paralyzed from the neck down after a 30-foot-tall tree suddenly collapsed onto her SUV in East Dallas. According to court records, Marsau was pinned under the tree for over an hour, suffering alone in excruciating pain and terror, believing she would die and never again be able to hold her baby or tell her family she loved them.

Now, Marsau has filed a lawsuit seeking over $1 million in damages against the property owner, David Patterson, who also happens to be the chairman of the Texas Trees Foundation. The lawsuit alleges that Patterson failed to properly maintain the tree, which had a hollow base, a rotted interior, and leaned heavily over the frequently traveled roadway - all clear warning signs that a reasonably prudent landowner should have addressed.

The incident also caused the tree to strike a nearby power line, resulting in live electrical wires continuously sparking around Marsau's vehicle. While Patterson claims the thousands of trees on his property are well-maintained by professionals, the lawsuit argues that "multiple people" had approached him over the years about the unsafe conditions of his trees, which ultimately posed an unreasonable risk of harm to the public.