Suit filed by wife of FDNY firefighter killed by tree branch while on vacation in N.C.

The wife of a decorated FDNY veteran from Long Beach who died after a tree branch crashed onto the car carrying him and his family while vacationing in North Carolina has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the tourist attraction where the accident occurred, claiming it was negligent in failing to maintain the tree despite knowing it posed a danger.

Casey Skudin, 45, was on a family vacation last month to celebrate his birthday and Father's Day when a 2,000-pound tree limb fell on the vehicle as he drove his wife, Angela, and sons Ben, 19, and C.J., 10, up the driveway of the Biltmore Estate, a 250-room castle built by George Vanderbilt and dubbed “America’s largest home” in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville.

"Obviously, this case is a horrific case, a tragedy that ripped apart a family from having a father and a husband at way too young of an age," said Skudin family attorney Kyle Findley, of the Houston, Texas-based law firm Arnold & Itkin LLP. "In our view, this could have been totally prevented. … This particular tree had obvious, visible signs of problems, problems that were identified in the past and not adequately addressed. Had proper protections and measures been put in place, like removal of the tree, this tragedy would have never happened." 

The lawsuit, filed last week in Buncombe County, North Carolina, alleged the Biltmore exhibited "gross negligence and recklessness" because it "knowingly and intentionally kept a massive, rotted tree on its property next to a main road where defendants knew it would cause great harm when it fell."

The suit seeks a jury trial, both compensatory and punitive damages, and lawyers’ fees.

LeeAnn Donnelly, a senior public relations manager at Biltmore, said in a written statement Wednesday that the fatal injuries to Casey Skudin were the result of a "tragic accident" and that the company "adamantly" denies allegations of negligent and intentional conduct. 

"A portion of a tree fell during a period of high winds and struck the guest’s vehicle as they entered the estate," the statement said. "There have been multiple eye witness accounts of a short duration high wind event around that time. There are no words to express our deep sorrow for the Skudin family’s unimaginable loss and we offer them our deepest sympathy."

The statement added: "We are preparing our answer to this lawsuit and will not provide further details while in litigation. We adamantly deny all allegations of willful or intentional conduct on the part of Biltmore, as well as the allegations of negligence. We will present all of the facts about this heartbreaking accident through the legal process."

Skudin died from his injuries about an hour after the accident, the lawsuit said. His 10-year-old son was “knocked unconscious, fractured his sternum and sustained multiple fractures to his spine,” according to the lawsuit. Angela Skudin and older son Ben “sustained physical and emotional injuries during the horrific accident” that have “required intensive medical treatment,” the lawsuit said.

Angela Skudin, who recorded video of the tree falling on the car, said in an interview Wednesday that she, her sons, their extended family and friends and her husband's firefighter community have been devastated by his loss. 

"It’s just mind-boggling and completely numbing and infuriating that there was not just days worth of time, or hours worth of time … they had years to continue to making this terrible decision to leave this ailing tree up over a roadway for years," said Skudin. "And my husband’s life was the result of that decision. And almost my whole family's lives. How we made it through, I don’t know."

The suit says the defendants had previously installed steel cables to the tree, which indicates awareness of the tree’s instability.

“Despite this knowledge, defendants decided to install inadequate cables to try and merely keep the tree upright, instead of taking the appropriate measure of cutting the tree down and eliminating the potentially fatal risk,” the suit said. “Despite knowingly exposing guests to the extreme risks posed by the rotting and decaying tree, defendants also chose not to warn anyone of the risks or otherwise mitigate the dangerous condition. These decisions directly and proximately caused Casey Skudin’s death and the severe, and likely permanent, physical and nonphysical injuries his family will have to live with the rest of their lives.”

Skudin, a 16-year FDNY veteran assigned to Ladder 137 in the Rockaways, had twice been recognized by the department for his bravery, including his part in the water rescue of a surfer in November 2009.

The family’s ill-fated North Carolina vacation was their first trip since the outbreak of coronavirus, and they had planned to go hiking, white-water rafting and to attend an indie rock concert.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.