By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

A Cheektowaga resident who became a quadriplegic after a 2004 workplace accident was awarded nearly $66 million during an eight-week jury trial that ended Dec. 7 in state Supreme Court.

At $65.9 million, it is believed to be the largest personal-injury award in Erie County history, legal insiders say.

The jury awarded Natalie Barnhard, 30, the settlement in a trial that pitted her against Cybex International Inc., maker of exercise equipment.

Barnhard was injured when a 608-pound leg extension machine toppled at her workplace - Amherst Orthopedic Physical Therapy P.C. - breaking her cervical vertebrae and other bones that compressed her spinal cord. The wheelchair-bound Barnhard had worked at Amherst Orthopedic as an assistant physical therapist and planned to eventually start her own massage therapy business.

The 21-year-old machine, located in a workout area, fell when she leaned against it.

Under terms of the award, Cybex International is responsible for 75 percent of the award while Amherst Orthopedics is responsible for 20 percent and Barnhard for the final 5 percent. Cybex International may collect 20 percent of its owed award from Amherst Orthopedics.

The jury deliberated for more than six hours before returning its verdict and award in a trial conducted by state Supreme Court Justice Diane Devlin.

John Aglialoro, Cybex chairman and CEO, said he expects to appeal the verdict.

"We strongly believe that Cybex was not negligent and is in no way responsible for this tragic accident," he said in a statement to Business First. "We will vigorously pursue all avenues to attain a reversal of this verdict."

Long Island attorney Robert Baxter, a partner in Baxter Smith & Shapiro P.C. who represented Amherst Orthopedics, said he expects to "join in the appeal of the excessive nature of the verdict."

Barnhard was 24 at the time of the accident and held degrees from Villa Maria College and Trocaire College. She had just passed her state boards and became a licensed massage therapist before the Oct. 22, 2004, accident. She said it took four people to lift the fallen machine as she lay on the floor.

"I have never been so scared in my whole life because in my mind I knew I had suffered an extremely severe, life-changing injury," she wrote on her website.

The breakdown of the jury verdict includes $8 million for past pain and suffering; $151,690 in past lost earnings; $1.68 million for past medical expenses; $25 million for future pain and suffering; $1.79 million for future lost earnings; $28.56 million for future medical expenses; and $792,435 for care of potential children.

"The jury gave this a lot of thought," said Kevin English, partner in Phillips Lytle LLP who, along with Michael Law from the firm, represented Barnhard.

The size of the award was satisfying, Law said, adding, "We just knew it was going to be big."