Additional damages sought for pool injury as Washington Township homeowners appeal $19M verdict

The lawyer for a Vandergrift man who won a $19 million verdict this month from a Westmoreland County jury has asked a judge to order a Washington Township couple found responsible for his injuries to pay another $3.8 million in delayed damages.

The verdict, the largest ever awarded in Westmoreland County, followed a weeklong trial in which now 29-year-old Michael Fraser claimed his former best friend’s parents were responsible for injuries he suffered in their swimming pool in 2013 that left him paralyzed from the waist down when he broke his neck after diving onto a raft.

Fraser and his lawyers argued Robert and Laura O’Black were negligent when they allowed a raft to be inappropriately used in the pool.

The jury found the O’Blacks 70% responsible for Fraser’s injuries. In a court filing late last week, Fraser’s lawyers asked Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. to mold the verdict to reflect that determination, which would decrease the award to $13.3 million.

But Fraser, through attorney Mike Calder, contends the final award should be increased because the O’Blacks never made an offer to settle the case before trial.

With the molded verdict and delayed damages, Fraser said he should receive $17. 1 million.

On Monday, the O’Blacks filed an appeal in which they claimed the judge made a series of errors during the trial. According to the appeal, the O’Blacks contend the verdict was not supported by the evidence at trial and jurors improperly awarded $9 million in damages for past and future medical expenses.

The appeal asks the judge to overturn the verdict, grant a new trial on the cause of Fraser’s injuries and to redetermine medical damages.

Robert Loch, the O’Black’s lawyer, did not return a call seeking comment.

Fraser was 21 when he attended a holiday party July 6, 2013, at the O’Black’s home. Witnesses said he jumped off a diving board and onto the raft and was propelled into the water, where he struck his head in an area between the deep and shallow ends of the pool.

Calder argued during the trial that the O’Blacks covered a warning that appeared on the raft that advised against using it for diving and that it was not suitable to be used in pools.

The raft was never produced into evidence. It was discarded years ago, according to lawyers for Fraser and the O’Blacks.

The O’Blacks argued Fraser acted irresponsibly when he dove into the pool and it was his actions alone that caused his injuries.