The Amtrak amputation lawsuit went to the jury Thursday following an impassioned plea by Joe Nevis’ lawyer that jurors award him $57.6 million in damages for the Christmas Eve 2016 accident in which a train sliced off his legs.
“He has 40 more years to live, 40 more years of finding his way through doors, of people holding doors for him, holding elevators,” attorney Raymond McElfish told the Sacramento jury as he stood with Nevis next to him in a wheelchair in front of the jury box and U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd.
“They all know what they did, and they know what it’s worth,” McElfish said of the defendants — Amtrak, Marysville’s Rideout Memorial Hospital and Dr. Hector Lopez. “Compensate him so he can live his life the best he can do.”
