Significant damages
A Las Vegas jury has awarded damages of $8m to a man who suffered permanent injuries after getting served chemicals instead of beer at a Nevada casino. The jury came to its decision on Friday in the Clark County District Court.
has not recovered his sense of taste
Lon Enwright was given cleaning solvent instead of beer from a tap at the Barley’s Casino Brewing Co. bar in Henderson, Nevada. The 38-year-old has not recovered his sense of taste since the incident in December 2018 and will have to forever live with a variety of serious ailments. The jury took two hours to decide to award past damages of $3m to Enwright and $5m worth of future damages.
Permanent injuries
Enwright is a middle school special education teacher. He was also formerly a wine steward at restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip. While he can still teach and coach basketball, Enwright deals with esophageal and stomach ulcers, as well as having a heightened risk of cancer.
Other ailments include a lifelong tongue burning sensation and internal damage. Speaking about the jury’s decision to award extensive damages, one of Enwright’s attorneys said that it is compensation for “the loss of enjoyment of life.”
Barley’s made an admission of liability a few days before the trial
Station Casinos, the parent company of Barley’s Casino Brewing Co., declined to make a comment following a request by local media. According to the victim’s attorneys, Barley’s made an admission of liability a few days before the trial and had offered damages of $300,000.
Hazardous chemicals
According to the negligence lawsuit, Enwright had asked bar staff for a Honey Blonde ale sample from the tap. Instead of getting beer, he got caustic chemicals that are usually used for cleaning beer lines and taps.
After drinking the chemicals, he had sudden intense burning in his mouth and down to his stomach. Enwright then started to convulse, hyperventilate, and vomit violently before the Henderson Fire Department arrived at the scene. All the first responders were able to do upon arrival was to get Enwright to drink a lot of water to help dilute the chemicals.
typically cause stomach issues, vomiting, and severe burns
Enwright’s lawyers believe that the bar staff was aware that the beer lines were not in service due to ongoing cleaning. The specific chemicals in the beer sample were nonylphenol polyethylene glycol ether and potassium hydroxide. These chemicals will typically cause stomach issues, vomiting, and severe burns if ingested.