Dodgers found partly responsible in Bryan Stow beating

A San Francisco Giants fan who suffered brain damage in a beating at Dodger Stadium has won his negligence suit against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but former owner Frank McCourt has been absolved by the jury.

The jury found damages of about $18 million but said the Dodgers were responsible for only a quarter of the sum.

The jury found Wednesday that Bryan Stow suffered damages for economic losses and pain and suffering totaling about $18 million but divided responsibility for his injuries among the Dodgers and the two men who beat him.

Plaintiff’s attorney Tom Girardi says the verdict means the Dodgers must pay about $14 million in economic losses and a quarter of the pain and suffering sum, adding about $1 million more.

Girardi had asked for more than double that sum but still considers it a victory.

The rest of the responsibility — 37.5 percent each, to be precise — was split between the two men who beat fan Bryan Stow. Marvin Norwood and Louie Sanchez were convicted earlier this year and sent to prison.

The damages comprise estimated value of lost wages, both past and future, as well as medical costs, emotional damages and both past and future medical expenses.

The jury delivered its verdict Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom after weeks of testimony about the assault after the opening day game in March 2011 between the rival teams.

Stow, a Santa Cruz-area paramedic and father of two, suffered traumatic brain injury in the attack.

Stow’s lawyers claimed the team and its former owner 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.