At a news conference on Monday, Antonio Lopez Chaj shocked onlookers when he took off his cap and revealed that part of his skull was permanently bashed in. His brain was so severely damaged that he couldn’t barely speak.
The victim’s attorney, Federico Sayre, claimed a security guard beat Chaj with a baton, kicked him in the head eight times and smashed his skull against the pavement four times.
His lawyers announced at the conference that Chaj was awarded $58 million from the security company that hired the unlicensed and untrained bouncer. The award, from Torrance Superior Court, was one of the largest ever handed down to an individual in California.
KMOV.com recounted the incident as follows:
“The confrontation began on April 20, 2010 when Chaj, his brother and two nephews, who all worked as house painters, went to Barra Latina, a mid-Wilshire neighborhood bar. One of the relatives got into a dispute with the bartender-manager who came after him with brass knuckles, Sayre said.
“[Emerson] Quintanilla, who was working for DGSP Security and Patrol Services, began kicking and beating members of the group. Chaj tried to intervene and said, ‘Stop beating my nephews.’
“At that point, Sayre said, the guard beat Chaj into unconsciousness. Part of his skull was gone when he reached the hospital. They saved his life but he has significant brain damage, Sayre said. ‘He can’t speak and he requires 24-hour nursing care.’ Chaj faces more surgeries.”
Watching the video of Chaj’s injury is disturbing. It’s unsettling that one human being could do that to another. Even though Chaj was awarded a substantial amount of money, it will never be enough to pay for what he has to endure for the rest of his life.
