Las Vegas – A jury in Nevada was due to hear opening arguments Tuesday in former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s lawsuit against the maker of a flexible exercise band that he says slipped from his hand while he used it in January 2015, causing him to fall and suffer lasting injuries, including blindness in one eye.
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The jury was seated Tuesday in Las Vegas for a civil trial that court officials say could take about a week. Several prospective jurors were excused from hearing the case after expressing strong opinions about the former Senate Democratic Party leader.
Reid, now 79, has been using a wheelchair while attending the trial. He and his wife, Landra Gould, seek monetary damages from Ohio-based Hygenic Intangible Property Holding Co. and its subsidiaries that make the product called TheraBand.
Reid’s lawsuit alleges negligence and calls the elastic physical resistance band defective and “unreasonably dangerous,” particularly for the elderly like him.
Company attorneys counter that Reid didn’t keep the exercise band he used that day as evidence in the case. They say he got hurt because he misused it.
Reid says the device slipped from his hand, causing him to spin around and fall, hitting his face on a bathroom counter and cabinet. He was also treated for broken bones around his eye, fractured ribs, a concussion and bruises.
After 20 years in the Senate, Reid decided after he was injured not to seek re-election.
His brother beat him up
I remember when right-wing nuts were making all sorts of silly claim. I see #1 still is.
It’s always someone else’s fault.
I’ve never gone skiing nor taken lessons.
If I fall, is it the fault of the ski manufacturer?