Saturday, December 11, 1999 WASHINGTON -- A Virginia jury last night awarded the wife of Sen. Rick
Santorum $350,000 in damages after she charged in a lawsuit that a
Virginia chiropracter's negligence caused her permanent back pain.
Deliberating more then six hours after a four-day trial in which
Santorum, R-Pa., testified, the Fairfax County Circuit Court jury
unanimously ruled for Karen Santorum. She had sought $500,000 against Dr.
David Dolberg of Virginia, because of pain from his 1996 treatment of her.
"Mrs. Santorum has been vindicated," said her Pittsburgh attorney
Heather Heidelbaugh. "She was injured permanently through the actions of a
chiropractor who acted negligently."
Heidelbaugh, with the Pittsburgh law firm of Burns, White &
Hickton, said Mrs. Santorum has "permanent back pain" and "permanent
numbness" in one leg.
Throughout the trial, Santorum aides declined to provide details.
Yesterday, they issued a brief statement from the senator saying: "The
court proceedings are a personal family matter. I will not be offering any
further public comments, other than that I am not a party to the suit. But
I am fully supportive of my wife."
But Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill, reported that
Santorum testified Monday that his wife might not be able to actively
campaign for his re-election next year because of her pain. "She has
always been intricately involved in my campaigns," he testified.
Democrats aim next year to strongly challenge Santorum, first elected
in the 1994 GOP landslide. Rep. Ron Klink, D-Murrysville; former Rep.
Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, D-Montgomery County; state Sen. Allyson
Schwartz, D-Philadelphia, and former state Labor Secretary Tom Foley are
among Democrats expected to compete in a party primary next year.
The Santorums maintain a Penn Hills, Pa., residence but have a home in
Herndon, Va., a Washington suburb.
By Jack Torry, Post-Gazette National Bureau