A jury is preparing to decide whether or not former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid was a victim of a faulty physical resistance band, or if he’s guilty of failing to learn how to use it properly. Apparently, Reid is in the middle of a lawsuit in which he claims he took a horrible fall when a TheraBand slipped out of his hands in January of 2015.
79-year-old Reid, who is now confined to a wheelchair, said: ”I hurt myself really bad. I just knew that I was hurt, and I needed to get some help.”
Ever since the accident, Reid has become blind in his right eye, which he blames on an “unreasonably dangerous” physical resistance band made out of plastic. Reid has also claimed that his career in the U.S. Senate was cut short because of his injuries. Reid, who is a part of the Democratic party, retired in January 2017 from his position as Senate minority leader after 30 years of serving in the Senate.
Laurin Quiat, one of TheraBand’s attorneys, which is made by Hygenic Corp. of Ohio, stated that Reid is at fault for his injuries because he didn’t use the product the right way. According to the Washington Post, Quiat pointed to cited logs from the Office of Attending Physician to show that Reid’s exercise advisers attempted to teach him how to properly use the resistance band for several months. On the day of the accident, Reid said that while he was using the resistance band he spun around and fell against cabinets in his bathroom.
Reid is currently looking for unspecified damages in the suit. He explains that while he was doing his exercise, he had looped the band through a metal handle on a glass door, which is what caused him to lose his balance. Reid believes that the TheraBand should have been designed with handles.
According to Las Vegas Review-Journal, Reid’s lawsuit claims that he suffered from a concussion, severe disfigurement to his face, broken orbital bones, hand injuries, broken ribs, bruising and lacerations to his face, and scarring. Reid blames the accident for causing him to retire from the Senate.
“I knew I had to get out of the hospital as quick as I could and get back to Washington … to assure the Senate that I was OK and would be back. At that time, I was not sure I could be. But I put up a good front,” testified Reid.
According to Reid, his loss of eyesight affected his reading ability and depth perception. Just two months after his accident, Reid put an end to his 30-year career by announcing that he wasn’t going to run for re-election in 2016.
During his two hours on the witness stand, Reid also testified that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The former Senate leader underwent chemotherapy following surgery for his cancer, which affected vertebrae in his back. Reid said he’s now trying to regain his ability to walk.
While he was testifying on the witness stand for two hours, Reid stated that he was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The former leader of the Senate went through chemotherapy after he had surgery for his cancer, which was concentrated in the vertebrae of his back. At this time, Reid said that he’s regaining his ability to walk. “My pancreatic cancer is in remission, but my posture is really gone. I can’t stand up,” he said. Reid will continue his testimony on Friday.
