Mashantucket awards $2.9m in personal injury suit

LEDYARD, Conn. – A Massachusetts man who lost his leg in an accident at Foxwoods Resort Casino in 2006 received a $2.9 million award in what may be the largest personal injury claim ever negotiated in a tribal court.

Richard Murch, 69, of Tewksbury, Mass., and the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise agreed to settle the claim minutes before a trial was to begin in Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court in early August.

MPGE is the business arm of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino in southeastern Connecticut. Tribal officials said it was their largest settlement.

New London attorney M. John Strafaci, who represented Murch, said it may be the largest settlement in any tribal court.

Strafaci said his client was happy with the settlement.

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“Once the settlement was announced to Mr. Murch, once we told him we had reached a number that would provide him and his family with future security, he had a big smile on his face and his family said it was the first time they’d seen him smile like that since the accident. It was just a giant weight taken off his shoulders, knowing he could pay his bills and the family could have some security,” Strafaci said.