After years of pain and suffering, Richard Murch will now rest a little easier.
The 68-year-old, from Tewksbury, Mass, is getting $3 million in a personal injury lawsuit settlement with Foxwoods Resort Casino. His agony stems back to November 2006, the day he and his wife Carolyn drove to the casino to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.
Murch had just grabbed his wife’s sweater from the trunk and was handing over his car to a valet parking attendant when another car hit him, the Day of New London reports.
According to court documents, the vehicle pinned him against his car. The driver of the car that hit Murch had apparently been left it in gear. While the man stood outside, the valet reached in and started the engine prompting the car to lurch forward.
Court documents go on to state that Murch was crushed between the two cars and knocked to the ground. A valet had to get into the vehicle and restart it to get it off Murch's legs, the suit says.
The horrible accident caused Murch to have his right leg amputated above the knee. Now he uses a prosthetic leg and at times also needs a wheelchair.
Before Thursday’s trial got underway, Murch’s attorneys were told the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises, which operates Foxwoods, would settle.
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MPGE agreed to pay him $2.9 million in actual damages. He will get another $100,000 from the driver’s insurance company.
In the Day, Murch called the settlement fair.
”I was very pleasantly surprised. It was an 11th-hour settlement, but a settlement all the same. I'm very happy with the result. I'm going to sit back now and relax -- and go on with the rest of my life. I've had a tough time."
“We feel this is a fair settlement for Mr. Murch's severe and unfortunate injuries and hope that it serves as some consolation for his loss," Jackson King, general counsel for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, told the Day.
