Resident files claim after fall

A Huntington Beach resident filed a claim with the city after she tripped over a fallen palm frond and fell on her face, breaking her dentures and finger, on the way to a liquor store.

Donna Dussault, 71, filed a claim April 22 for $1,200 in damages. A claim is the precursor to a lawsuit.

A street light was out when Dussault was walking across the street to a liquor store on Portland Avenue and Alabama Street, according to a letter from her husband, Frank Dussault.

She tripped over a fallen palm frond that had blown into the street, breaking her finger and dentures, cutting her lip and bending her glasses, according to the letter.

The Dussaults claim the city was negligent in maintaining the tree and the street lamp. The tree hadn’t been trimmed in years, according to the claim.

— Britney Barnes