WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is suing the manufacturer of the exercise equipment he was using when he fell in January and suffered severe injuries to his right eye and face.
Reid and his wife, Landra Gould, are seeking damages from Performance Health, a company that makes a latex band called TheraBand that is used for muscle resistance exercises, according to Courthouse News. Reid was using the band on New Year's Day this year when the band either slipped or broke, "causing him to spin around and strike his face on a cabinet," according to the lawsuit, filed Monday in the Clark County district court in Nevada.
Commenting on his injuries in January, Reid did not rule out suing the equipment's manufacturer.
The retiring Nevada senator is seeking damages that "exceed the amount of $50,000," according to the suit. He alleges that the product was defective and that the company "knew or had constructive knowledge of the danger of injury to consumers, especially to the elderly, as a result of TheraBand breaking or slipping out of their hands while mounted to various sturdy objects." The suit also names the company that distributes the product.
Reid suffered visible injuries from the equipment. He returned from Congress' December recess two weeks late, with a badly bruised face, a large bandage over his right eye and several broken ribs from his fall. Reid underwent multiple surgeries to fix his disfigured face and to stop blood from pooling in his eye.
After the bandage was removed, Reid had to wear tinted glasses to protect his vision. Last month, he revealed that he can now wear clear glasses but said he may be permanently blind in his right eye. He also said that his impaired vision makes tasks like reading much more difficult.
"You know in life, you don't always get what you want," Reid said. "And I wish I hadn't hurt myself."
His injuries caused quite a commotion on Capitol Hill, with many concocting theories on what caused them, even speculating that Reid was beaten up by the mob. Reid attempted to set the record straight and mocked the wild rumors in a YouTube video.
"I didn’t get this black eye by sparring with [boxer] Manny Pacquiao, by challenging Floyd Mayweather,” Reid said. “I didn’t go bull riding. I wasn’t riding a motorcycle. I was exercising in my new home, and the doctors have told me I better take it easy.”
Also on HuffPost:
