Beaten SF fan awarded $18M
Published 1:47 am Thursday, July 10, 2014
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A San Francisco Giants fan who suffered brain damage in a stadium parking lot beating won his negligence suit against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, with a jury awarding about $18 million but dividing responsibility among the club and the two men who beat him.
Plaintiff’s attorney Tom Girardi said the verdict means the Dodgers must pay about $14 million in economic losses and a portion of a separate sum for pain and suffering, which adds about $1 million more.
The jury delivered its verdict in a Los Angeles courtroom after weeks of testimony about the assault on Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium after the opening day game in 2011 between the rival teams.
Dave Stow said his brain-damaged son probably wouldn’t understand the details if Wednesday’s verdict.
“But Bryan will know that he got some help today,” he said.
Lawyers for the 45-year-old Stow claimed the Dodgers and former owner Frank McCourt failed to provide adequate security at the stadium. The defense countered that security was stronger than ever at an opening day contest and Stow was partially to blame because he was drunk.
McCourt was absolved by the jury on Wednesday.
Dodger fans Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood pleaded guilty in the attack after a lengthy preliminary hearing in which witnesses said security guards were absent from the parking lot where Stow was attacked.
The jury’s finding was “a lot better than what we had,” Dave Stow said.