From Meltzer's Observer at the time:
"In a decision that has the potential to change the wrestling industry, Charles Austin, a jobber left nearly paralyzed after a December 1990 squash match, was awarded a $26.7 million judgement by a jury on 4/29 in a Hillsborough County, FL circuit court.
The judgement, believed to be the largest ever awarded in the Tampa Bay area and one of the largest in the history of sports, left the wrestling world in a state of shock and threatens to change many accepted business practices as they regard jobbers and television tapings. The jury, which deliberated seven hours after the two-week long trial which included some of wrestling's biggest names being called as witnesses, made a ruling that could change the entire methodology used by Titan Sports, and has been traditionally used by many pro wrestling offices since the beginning of time, in using inexperienced wrestlers as jobbers to make stars look good should include more safeguard measures. They also believed jobbers should be trained specifically beforehand on how to take new moves before they are tried inside the ring.
Austin, now 37, was in a tag team match at a television taping at the Sun Dome in Tampa, teaming with The Genius (Lanny Poffo) against The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty). Before the finish, Jannetty executed a maneuver called the Rocker Dropper (better known today as the Ace Crusher), putting his leg on Austin's neck, then jumping up in the air, with the object being Austin would take a face-first bump. Instead, Austin apparently claimed he had been instructed to take the move, which he claimed he was told by Jannetty was "a piece of cake," by taking a forward roll, which he attempted, and wound up landing on his head, breaking his neck. Others in the trial testified he was never told to take a forward roll and that taking a forward roll was exactly the wrong thing to do. The move looked so severe that wrestlers backstage watching on the monitor feared he'd been killed. Bruno Sammartino, who originally had wanted to not be involved in the case, was shown a videotape of it by Austin's lawyers and was so outraged that he became the key witness for the plaintiff. With Austin limp on the mat, he was turned over so Michaels could leap off the top rope with a splash for the planned finish.
It was initially feared by doctors that Austin would be paralyzed from the neck down for life. As more than three years have gone by, Austin has regained some feeling in his arms and legs and can get around with crutches. He still is unable to control his bodily functions and his hands and legs constantly sting and burn. For the duration of the trial, he said because of bladder control problems that he had to restrict liquids.
Austin's suit originally asked for $3.8 million, although Austin's lawyer, Richard Wilkes, in his final admonitions to the jury asked for a minimum $7 million award. It is believed that only in about one case out of 1,000 that a jury will award a plaintiff more then he asked. It is actually extremely rare for a jury to award the total amount asked, and almost unheard of to award more than six times the original request. The jury awarded Austin $4.2 million for medical bills and rehabilitation and $16 million for pain and suffering. His wife Holly was awarded $5.5 million for her suffering and his two sons were awarded $500,000 apiece because of the limitations the injury placed on their father in functioning as a parental figure.
The actual award will be slightly less because the jury determined Titan Sports was 90 percent negligent, Jannetty was five percent negligent and Austin was also five percent negligent. The actual damages due are $23.5 million by Titan, which Titan spokesman Curt Block said would be covered by insurance, and $1.3 million by Jannetty. The remainder is a combination of Austin's share of the damages, an amount deducted because one of Austin's sons had already reached the age of 18, and an amount Titan had already paid Austin for medical attention. Michael Hickenbottom (Shawn Michaels) was originally named in the suit, but was dismissed as a plaintiff by the judge who ruled he had no part in Austin's injuries. Michaels did testify for the defense during the trial. The decision is already in the process of appeals. Motions are being prepared to argue before the judge shortly to lower the award, a decision several lawyers contacted by us believed was likely to happen. Titan will then have 30 days after a judge's ruling, on which there is no timetable but is largely expected to occur within three weeks, to officially file for an appeal. Based on Florida law, if an appeal were to be filed, the defendants would have to post a bond for the award, which would be $24.8 million, with the cost of securing such a bond being nearly $2.5 million. There is a possibility that due to the size of the award that securing of a bond that large may be waived in the appeals process.
The defense in this case was that wrestlers assume a certain amount of risk every time they step into the ring. Austin's lawyer, Richard Wilkes, countered in arguments that wrestlers should assume the risk of what they have the experience level to perform, arguing that Austin, who only had six months of training and a handful of matches under his belt, was not at the experience level necessary to pull off a dangerous move of that type without a strong risk of injury.
During the trial, the defense introduced videotape of Jannetty performing the move on a few dozen different occasions on television matches without injury resulting, to show the move wasn't dangerous and what happened was a freak accident. They even brought in mats to the court room and had Jannetty perform the maneuver on Dean Simon (Dean Malenko), and Simon got up unhurt. Austin's lawyer countered by saying Titan had to bring in Simon, a top-level pro from a wrestling family with more than a decade of experience in taking high risk moves, but that Austin was a novice who didn't have the experience to be put into that position.
Those who watched the trial said they believed the jury award was based on a combination of believing Austin's version of what happened, and not believing many of the Titan witnesses, whose stories not only contradicted Austin's as far as what went on before the match and how the planning of the move was discussed, but also reportedly at times contradicted both themselves and each other. Ultimately it was believed by those watching that the award was so great because by the time the case was over, the jury thought the witnesses for Titan lacked credibility, in addition to the obvious sympathy for the victim.
Joe Lopez, the attorney representing Titan in the case called the verdict an abomination, saying the jury didn't make a ruling based on testimony or evidence but based on sympathy.
"The WWF and/or Marty Jannetty and/or Shawn Michaels didn't do a damn thing wrong. I'm absolutely shocked. There was not one scintilla of evidence for that award. What happened (Austin's injury) was tragic but every witnesses with one exception (Rusty Brooks, one of only two men, the other being Sammartino, who testified in Austin's behalf) testified there is an inherent risk of injury. And he was torn apart on the stand since he'd suffered a broken leg (and other injuries while wrestling).
Every wrestler knows that and assumes that risk every time they get in the ring."
"We thought the award was excessive," said WWF spokesperson Curt Block. "We feel that we aren't negligent. The insurance company handled the trial and we don't expect the award to stand."
Wilkes countered by saying that Titan Sports had an obligation to provide a safe work environment and they were at fault for not properly training and instructing their jobbers on how to safely take dangerous moves, and their personnel in how to react in the event of a serious injury. What may have been a strong factor in the award, besides what some believed was a credibility problem with certain witnesses, was that after Austin's neck was broken by the "Rocker Dropper," a bump shown to the jury to be so devastating (the match never aired on television due to the violent nature of Austin's injury), the match wasn't stopped even though it appeared obvious there was a serious injury. Jannetty testified that he asked Austin if he was okay after the move and concluded Austin was simply "selling the move," which is why the match continued.
"He was not properly instructed on how to perform that maneuver," Wilkes said. Wilkes said the normal business procedure regarding both jobbers and officials in regard to amount of training before they are put in the ring to take potentially dangerous bumps is lacking, and that personnel had no training as far as what to do if someone is seriously injured during a match. Wilkes said that upon cross-examination, every Titan witness said that when someone is injured that seriously, the match should immediately be stopped, but in fact that wasn't the case because personnel was inadequately trained.
"I would certainly hope (this decision will lead to a change in the standard business practices of wrestling in regard to training of jobbers before being asked to take dangerous moves) so," said Wilkes, who during the trial said that the pro wrestling business needs governmental regulation. "Something like this should never happen again."
Block said he didn't think the trial verdict would change in any fashion the WWF's business procedures as it comes to the role of jobbers and moves they take.
"We've been operating this way for a long time. Despite the verdict, we feel we've handled things properly in this case as well."
Austin, who has been unable to work since suffering the injury, wiped tears from his eyes after being stunned when the award was announced, said the verdict would allow him to provide for his family and get physical therapy for himself.
A former linebacker at the University of North Carolina, Austin worked in construction before meeting up with some wrestlers and getting trained.
"This just shows the truth came out," Austin said to the St. Petersburg Times after the verdict. "In spite of all that's been said, despite the magnitude of their organization, the truth came out."