The family of the Flushing man tragically killed by a felled tree during Sandy has officially filed a lawsuit against the city, legal sources said.
“The city has completely ignored the situation with their trees in Queens,” said the family’s attorney, Rosemarie Arnold.
Arnold filed a notice of claim in January on behalf of Tony Laino, 29, who is considered the storm’s first New York City victim.
He was pinned under a tree that ripped through his second-floor bedroom on October 29, police said.
“Around the corner from where this happened, someone else was killed last week,” said Arnold, referring to the pregnant woman recently killed by a tree in Kissena Park.
The attorney said the Lainos fought in vain for at least a decade to get the towering threat in front of their house removed.
She told The Courier the city tree was “overgrown, rotten and improperly pruned” and fell when it was confronted by predicted 80 miles per hour hurricane winds.
The victim’s parents, Carol and Robert Laino, and one of his two brothers, Nicholas Laino, are now suing for emotional, mental distress and monetary damages, including funeral and burial expenses, according to the claim.
“Let’s hope this lawsuit saves at least one other mother from the torment that Carol Laino is experiencing because of the unnecessary loss of her child,” Arnold said.
The amount the family plans to sue for is not yet determined, according to their lawyer.
The city’s Law Department said it was “awaiting a formal copy of the lawsuit and will review it upon receipt.”
“We recognize that the incident involves a loss of life, which is tragic,” said department spokesperson Elizabeth Thomas.
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