Man injured at ‘Unite the Right’ rally awarded $2.4 million in medical fees, damages

An organization spearheaded by white nationalist leader Richard Spencer has been ordered by a judge to pay more than $2 million to a man who was injured during the deadly “Unite The Right” rally the leader organized in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. 

According to The Associated Press, the National Policy Institute was ordered on Tuesday to pay the fine to Bill Burke. Burke filed a lawsuit in 2019 after he was injured in the same car crash in which James Alex Fields fatally struck counterprotester Heather Heyer. 

Burke said he also went to the white supremacist rally at the time to counterprotest the demonstration, AP reported.

The Ohio man reportedly said he suffered from a broken arm as well as injuries to his head and knee, among others that could last a lifetime as a result of the attack. 

The judge who handed down the ruling on also reportedly acknowledged other significant changes Burke saw following the attack, including he and his wide’s separation, his inability to exercise, and being unemployed for longer than a year afterward.

“The emotional toll this senseless attack has taken on Plaintiff is extreme. It has impacted virtually every aspect of Plaintiff’s daily life, and he deserves to be compensated for the harm,” Judge Michael Watson said, according to the AP.

Michael Fradin, an attorney representing Burke, told AP in a statement that “is important that the judgment is satisfied not only to compensate Bill for his damages but also to disrupt and dismantle an organization that attempts to portray white supremacy as an intellectual endeavor.”

Of the amount awarded to Burke, more than $217,000 is reportedly intended to cover Burke’s medical expenses, $350,000 for punitive damages, and $1.5 million would go toward his pain and suffering as well as emotional distress.

The AP reported that the ruling came after Spencer’s organization was found in default by the court after failing to enter its defense.