Former U.S. senator Harry Reid, left, and his wife Landra Gould watches as their attorney Colin Esgro, center, delivers his closing arguments to the jury during Reid's civil trial at the Regional Justice Center on Friday, April 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. Reid sued the makers of an exercise band after injuring his eye. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
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LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's injury lawsuit against the maker of an exercise band (all times local):
6:35 p.m.
A jury in Las Vegas rejected former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's lawsuit against an exercise band maker he blamed for injuries including blindness in one eye suffered in January 2015.
After eight days of civil trial testimony, the eight-member jury deliberated about an hour before declaring Friday that Reid never proved the device he used that day was a TheraBand made by Ohio-based Hygenic Corp.
Jurors never saw the actual exercise band because Reid's son disposed of it soon after Reid was injured.
Reid testified the stretchy device slipped from his grasp, and he fell and was seriously injured.
The 79-year-old former Democratic Party leader and wife, Landra Gould, weren't in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
Their lawyer, James Wilkes II, says he respects the jury's decision.
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5:05 p.m.
A jury in Las Vegas is deliberating whether an exercise band maker is to blame for blindness in one eye and other injuries former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid suffered when a stretchy device he was using slipped from his grasp and he fell in January 2015.
Attorneys closed the case Friday in Reid's civil damages lawsuit in Nevada state court against Ohio-based TheraBand maker Hygenic Corp.
The 79-year-old former Democratic party leader used a wheelchair during the two-week trial, after treatment for pancreatic cancer and back surgery.
His attorneys dropped a negligence claim after several days of testimony that began March 27.
Reid and his wife, Landra, seek damages because they say the product is defective and the company failed to warn the public the device is dangerous for elderly people like Reid.
Laurin Quiat, a lawyer for an elastic exercise band maker, delivers his closing arguments to the jury during former U.S. Senator Harry Reid's civil trial at the Regional Justice Center, Friday, April 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. Reid sued the makers of an exercise band after injuring his eye. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
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Former U.S. senator Harry Reid listens as Dr. Farheen Khan, director, Human Factor Division Rimkus Consulting Group, not photographed, during his civil trial, at the Regional Justice Center on Friday, April 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. Reid sued the makers of an exercise band after injuring his eye. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
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Former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid speaks from the witness stand, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Las Vegas. Reid testified in his negligence lawsuit against the maker of an exercise device. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Former U.S. Senator Harry Reid, who sued the makers of an exercise band after injuring his eye, leaves the courtroom after attending the first day of jury selection in his civil trial at the Regional Justice Center on Monday, March. 25, 2019, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
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Former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid sits in front of a monitor showing instructions for an exercise band in court Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Las Vegas. A jury in Nevada heard opening arguments Tuesday in Reid's lawsuit against the maker of a flexible exercise band that he says slipped from his hand while he used it in January 2015, causing him to fall and suffer lasting injuries including blindness in one eye. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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