Jury awards family $2.5 million in car wash death

By Jeff Pope

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 | 6:05 p.m.

The family of a Summerlin man who died after hitting his head during an altercation at a car wash in 2005 was awarded almost $2.5 million in compensatory damages on Friday.

A Clark County District Court jury returned the verdict in the civil case, which started on Monday and was filed on behalf of the family of Larry Weiss.

Weiss, who was 60, died of head injuries on March 13, 2005, two days after he was shoved into a metal cage holding propane tanks and fell to the ground.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Stephen Shaw, 39, a chiropractor and former UNLV football player, who pushed Weiss, a retired record company executive, after Weiss had a confrontation with Shaw's wife.

The jury also will award punitive damages. A hearing is scheduled for March 30.

"This is as serious as it gets in personal injury cases," said Donald Campbell, the attorney for the Weiss family. "This man is dead and gone, and nothing's going to bring him back."

Shaw's attorney, Brent Percival, said he didn't have his client's permission to speak to the media.

Shaw said he was defending his family following an argument between Weiss and Shaw's wife, Raquel, at the Fabulous Freddy's Car Wash at Fort Apache Road and Charleston Boulevard.

The incident began March 11, 2005, as Raquel Shaw was getting a smog check for her sport utility vehicle at the gas station. Her two daughters were in the back seat.

According to police reports, Raquel Shaw said she and Weiss crossed paths outside the car wash after Weiss believed she had cut him off at the entrance. She told police he yanked open her car door, yelled profanities and frightened her with his tirade.

She called her husband at work after Weiss walked away, and Stephen Shaw arrived about 15 minutes later, according to the report.

Records showed that Stephen Shaw was 6-feet-2 and weighed 195 pounds, while Weiss was 5-feet-8 and weighed 150 pounds.

Stephen Shaw admitted to pushing Weiss out of fear but never dreamed the shove would end his life, said during the civil trial.

In a criminal case, he pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and received five years of probation. Under the so-called Alford plea, Shaw, while not admitting guilt, conceded that prosecutors had enough evidence to prove their case against him.

The jury decision on Friday was the first time that Weiss' wife, Sheri, felt some sense of justice in the case, Campbell said.

"She said it was the first time in all these years where someone has really spoken for Larry. She was glad to hear that when somebody spoke, the jury listened," he said.

Jeff Pope can be reached at 990-2688 or [email protected].