Processes
Maple kills child – acquittal for tree inspector
According to the prosecution, the tree inspector overlooked the fungal infection in a maple tree. photo
© Stefan Puchner/dpa
The mighty maple tree suddenly fell over – onto the seesaw of a playground. A toddler died. Could the responsible tree inspector have and should have foreseen this? Now the court has decided.
In July 2021, the 23-meter-high maple tree in the playground fell and hit a seesaw where a mother was playing with her 20-month-old daughter. Both were seriously injured, the girl later died in the Augsburg University Hospital. One of the woman’s older daughters was playing a short distance away and was physically unharmed.
“It was a terrible, tragic accident, but one for which they are not to blame,” said judge Alexandra Lehner in sentencing the accused gardener. The man had last examined the tree 14 months before the toddler’s death and saw no abnormalities. His defense attorney said he was badly affected by the accident. The 58-year-old has been unable to work since then and is undergoing psychotherapeutic treatment.
Three tree experts testified in the trial and came to different assessments. An expert told the tree inspector that he should have taken further technical measures during the 2020 investigation to identify the danger. Two experts said that the man’s routine examination was sufficient and that the tree fall was not foreseeable. Ultimately, both the defense attorney and the public prosecutor called for the 58-year-old to be acquitted.