BOWLING GREEN, Ky._The neighbor who tackled U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and broke six of his ribs should pay the Republican lawmaker $582,834 in damages, a jury ruled Wednesday.
Paul filed a lawsuit seeking up to $1.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Rene Boucher, 60, a retired anesthesiologist who has lived next door to Paul since 2000 in an upscale subdivision in Bowling Green.
The jury awarded Paul $7,834 for medical costs and $200,000 to compensate him for pain and suffering he endured as a result of the attack.
The jury said Boucher should pay an additional $375,000 to punish him for the attack.
Jurors deliberated only about 90 minutes before returning the verdict.
The limit on what jurors could award Paul was $500,000 to compensate him for physical and mental pain and suffering and $1 million in punitive damages.
Paul said he and his wife, Kelly, were pleased with the verdict and glad to get the case behind them.
The goal of the lawsuit was to send a message that violence is never acceptable even in these divisive times, Paul said.
"We've got to get the message out that violence is really not the way to resolve our differences," Paul said.
Boucher's attorney, Matthew Baker, said Boucher was disappointed in the verdict and will appeal on a number of grounds, including that the award was excessive.
"Certainly not what we were expecting," he said of the sizable judgment against Boucher.
The lawsuit arose from Boucher's attack on Paul on Nov. 3, 2017 in the upscale Bowling Green subdivision where they are neighbors.
Boucher's attorney said Boucher had cleaned up several piles of yard debris that Paul had piled close to their property line, and burned himself the day before the attack while trying to set fire to yet another a brush pile Paul had left.
Boucher said he lost his temper when he saw Paul piling up yet more waste on Nov. 3.
However, Paul testified he did not pile yard waste on the property line, but rather well within his yard.
Paul said he had piled brush and burned it on his property for years, and Boucher had never complained to him.
Paul had gotten off his mower to move a stick when Boucher hit him from behind with a running tackle. Paul was wearing noise-canceling headphones and did not hear Boucher coming.
Boucher pleaded guilty in federal court to assaulting Paul. He served 30 days in jail, paid a $10,000 fine and performed 100 hours of community service, according to his attorney.
However, federal prosecutors are pushing for a longer sentence for him. Advisory federal guidelines called for a sentence of at least 21 months.
The assault on Paul case received considerable attention. Paul was elected to the Senate in 2010 and ran against eventual winner Donald Trump in the GOP primaries for president in 2016.
Paul testified the pain he felt after the attack was like "a thousand knives," and that he had trouble breathing and getting out of bed because of his injuries.
He contracted pneumonia twice.
Paul said he still has pain and limits on his lung capacity and range of motion. It's likely a hernia he developed was related to his injuries, Paul said.
Boucher apologized to Paul during his testimony, saying he was not thinking rationally because of the burns he suffered.
The issue in Paul's lawsuit was not whether Boucher was to blame.
"There's no question he had a temporary and complete lapse in judgment," Baker told jurors.
Rather, the issue was how much money Paul deserved.
Baker said that while he wasn't trying to minimize Boucher's conduct or the pain Paul experienced for a time, Paul didn't deserve a lot of money for pain and suffering.
Paul was never hospitalized after the attack, was able to treat his pain with an over-the-counter pain reliever, and was able to return to activities such as golfing, skiing, baseball and traveling widely, Baker said.
One medical record said that by Dec. 1, Paul was no longer taking pain medication, Baker said.
Baker asked jurors not to award Paul any amount in punitive damages, saying Boucher has already been punished in federal court.
Boucher also is a felon and has become "infamous," because of the attack, Baker said.
"I'm gonna ask you not to punish him anymore," Baker said to jurors.
Paul's attorney, Tom Kerrick, argued to jurors that Paul suffered excruciating pain from his broken ribs. Three of his ribs were broken in two and displaced, allowing the ends to grind together with every breath, Kerrick said.
"It was a serious injury, a substantial injury," Kerrick said. "I can't think of a scarier feeling than when you can't breathe."
Kerrick said Paul will continue to have pain from his injuries and will always be at increased risk of fractured ribs.
And every time Paul has a stabbing pain, it brings back painful memories of the attack, Kerrick said.
He suggested that jurors consider awarding Paul $1,000 a day for his suffering from Nov. 3 through the end of February, when he began to feel OK, plus $1,000 a month since then and for the rest of his life, which would be another 25 years based on federal estimates.
That would total $408,000 for pain and suffering.
Kerrick did not suggest a sum for punitive damages, but said it should be big enough to make people understand that "malicious, cowardly" behavior like Boucher's won't be tolerated in the community.
"You will be sending a message," Kerrick said.
