Judge Throws Out $5.2 Million Verdict For Hampton Man In Best Buy Case [Daily Press, Newport News, Va.]

<p><chron>Oct. 04</chron>--<location value="LU/us.va.newnws" idsrc="xmltag.org">NEWPORT NEWS</location> -- A <location value="LU/us.va.newnws" idsrc="xmltag.org">Newport News</location> judge has thrown out a <money>$5.2 million</money> verdict in a personal injury lawsuit against electronics giant <org value="NYSE:BBY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Best Buy</org>, calling the verdict excessive and "shocking to the conscience."</p><p><org>Circuit Court</org> Judge <person>C. Peter Tench</person> left standing the seven-member jury's decision that the retailer had liability for causing the plaintiff's injuries. But the judge -- saying he has never previously set aside a jury's verdict on grounds that it was excessive -- ordered a new trial into how much money the plaintiff should be awarded.</p><p>The plaintiff, <person>Michael L. Chavis</person>, 53, of <location value="LU/us.va.hamton" idsrc="xmltag.org">Hampton</location>, said he was shocked not by the jury's August verdict, but Tench's decision last week to throw it out.</p><p>"It's a tough pill to swallow," Chavis said Tuesday. "I've got to deal with a lifetime of pain, and I may even lose my foot. I don't see how the jury's verdict was shocking at all ... I thought I was to the point of getting my life back, but here we go again."</p><p>In <chron>July 2006</chron>, Chavis was shopping for televisions at the <org value="NYSE:BBY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Best Buy</org> on <location>Jefferson Avenue</location> in <location value="LU/us.va.newnws" idsrc="xmltag.org">Newport News</location>. A nearby employee -- who was helping another customer -- accidentally hit a button on a forklift, causing it to lurch forward and run over Chavis' left foot.</p><p>Chavis underwent a year and a half of treatment for what was initially believed to be an issue with a muscle or ligament. But, according to the suit, he remained in severe pain and unable to work at his <money>$55,000</money>-a-year job at the <org value="XETRA:SIE" idsrc="xmltag.org">Siemens</org> fuel injector plant.</p><p>He was ultimately found to be suffering from "complex regional pain syndrome," which he and his attorneys said was "incurable."</p><p><org value="NYSE:BBY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Best Buy's</org> attorney on the case, <person>John D. McGavin</person> of <location value="LU/us.va.faifax" idsrc="xmltag.org">Fairfax County</location>, contended Chavis' foot pain was caused by a prior back injury. McGavin did not immediately return a phone message left Tuesday morning. <org value="NYSE:BBY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Best Buy</org>, based in <location value="LU/us.mn.riceld" idsrc="xmltag.org">Richfield, Minn.</location>, also did not return a phone call.</p><p>McGavin had asked Tench to choose one of three options: order a completely new trial; order a new trial on the award phase alone; or reduce the verdict amount. The judge chose the second option.</p><p>Chavis worked for years as a truck driver and auto mechanic before getting an associate's degree and landing the manufacturing job at <org value="XETRA:SIE" idsrc="xmltag.org">Siemens</org> three years before the accident. He's an <org>Army</org> veteran and father of six who lost one of his sons in <location value="LC/iq" idsrc="xmltag.org">Iraq</location> in 2006.</p><p>"Every step that I take is painful, every step," Chavis said of the foot pain. "Everything that I do, I have to think about how I'm going to do it and whether I need a scooter, a cane, crutches ...They completely messed up my life."</p><p>He said he's essentially been without work since the accident. That translates into <money>$1.5 million</money> in lost wages between the accident and his projected retirement age.</p><p>He said he's having a harder time getting medical insurance because the foot injury is deemed a "pre-existing condition." He's had spinal injections to dull the pain, and said doctors are planning to insert a device into his spine to stop the pain. "You're talking about medical procedures that are dangerous and can even cause death," Chavis said.</p><p>Chavis contended that when lost wages, increased medical bills and severe pain are factored in, the <money>$5.2 million</money> verdict is not too high, especially in light of lawyer fees that are estimated to be about <money>$1.7 million</money>.</p><p>Chavis' lead attorney, <person>Joel Weintraub</person> from the Peter Decker Law Firm in <location value="LU/us.va.norflk" idsrc="xmltag.org">Norfolk</location>, said any appeal must await the second trial. "If there's a judgment rendered after the second trial that we are not happy with, then we can appeal that the judge erred in setting aside the verdict after the first trial," Weintraub said.</p><p>A new trial date has not yet been scheduled.</p><p class="shirttail">___</p><p class="shirttail">(c)2011 the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)</p><p class="shirttail">Visit the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) at www.dailypress.com</p><p class="shirttail">Distributed by MCT Information Services</p>