The Bryan Stow settlement left his family with roughly $5.8 million of the $17.9 million jury verdict against the Los Angeles Dodgers, after attorneys’ fees, hospital and insurer liens, and the uncollectible shares assigned to his two attackers. The Dodgers appealed the 2014 verdict and later settled on undisclosed terms. Either way, the money Stow actually received falls far short of the $30 million or more his experts estimated he would need for lifetime care.1CBS News San Francisco. Bryan Stow to Receive Fraction of $18M Judgment Because of Insurer Liens
The $17.9 Million Verdict
On July 9, 2014, after four weeks of testimony and nine days of deliberation, a Los Angeles jury voted 9–3 to award Stow $17,913,239.2Los Angeles Times. Dodgers Liable in Fan Beating; Suffering Remains, Father Says The award broke down roughly as follows:
- Economic damages for medical costs and lost earnings: about $14 million, with the Dodgers found 100 percent liable.
- Pain and suffering: about $4 million, with the Dodgers assigned 25 percent (roughly $1 million) and attackers Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood each assigned 37.5 percent (roughly $1.5 million apiece).
The Dodgers’ share came to roughly $13.9 million to $15 million.3CBS News. Jury Reaches Verdict in Bryan Stow Trial Former team owner Frank McCourt was cleared of personal liability, though his attorneys acknowledged he had created the “Los Angeles Dodgers LLC” entity that the jury found negligent.4OC Register. Dodgers Liable in Stow Beating
The jury rejected the Dodgers’ argument that Stow’s intoxication made him partly responsible. Evidence at trial included testimony that stadium security took 10 to 15 minutes to reach the scene of the attack in the parking lot, and a text message Stow had sent during the March 31, 2011 Opening Day game expressing concern for his safety after being taunted for wearing Giants gear.5ABC7 News. Jury Finds Dodgers Negligent in Bryan Stow Beating
Why the Family Received Only $5.8 Million
Reporting from April 2015 laid out the deductions that shrank the headline figure. Four things took the number down:
- Attorneys’ fees of $3.6 million.
- A $3.4 million lien held by Envision Healthcare, which had paid for Stow’s acute medical treatment. Envision sold its lien rights to the Dodgers’ liability insurer for $1.8 million; the insurer then deducted the full $3.4 million from the payout, netting a $1.6 million gain on the transaction.
- A $1.2 million lien from San Francisco General Hospital for care not covered by insurance.
- The roughly $4 million share of the verdict assigned to Sanchez and Norwood. Neither attacker was expected to pay any of it.
What remained came to approximately $5.8 million.1CBS News San Francisco. Bryan Stow to Receive Fraction of $18M Judgment Because of Insurer Liens Stow’s own experts had put the cost of his lifetime medical care and lost wages at $34 million or more.6NBC Bay Area. Cost of Caring for Beating Victim Bryan Stow Estimated at $34 Million Other reporting placed the estimate in the $30 million to $37 million range.7SFist. Permanently Disabled Bryan Stow Now Expected to Receive Fraction of Award
The Appeal and Later Settlement
The Dodgers appealed the verdict. According to a 2019 San Francisco Chronicle report, the $17.9 million judgment was “later appealed by the Dodgers and settled.” The terms of that settlement were not publicly disclosed.8San Francisco Chronicle. Giants Fan Bryan Stow Finds Purpose in a Life Forever Changed The public record does not show how the appeal or the private settlement changed the $5.8 million net figure reported in 2015.
The Second Lawsuit Over the Insurer’s Lien
In September 2014, Stow’s lead attorney Thomas Girardi filed a second lawsuit on Stow’s behalf, challenging the Dodgers’ liability insurer’s attempt to recoup the $3.4 million in medical payments out of the jury award. The suit went at the same lien transaction that had cost Stow’s family the most on paper.9ESPN. Bryan Stow Suing Los Angeles Dodgers Again Over Insurance Payments The outcome of the second lawsuit was not publicly reported.
Girardi’s Later Fraud Conviction
Stow’s lead attorney, Thomas Girardi of Girardi and Keese, was later revealed to have run a years-long scheme that stole nearly $20 million from client trust accounts at his firm. On June 3, 2025, Girardi was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison. The Stow case was cited as one of the high-profile matters Girardi handled during the relevant period. Reporting did not specify whether Stow was among the clients whose funds were directly stolen.10Daily News. Disbarred Attorney Tom Girardi Sentenced to 7 Years for $20 Million Ponzi Scheme
What the Money Has to Cover
Stow, a former paramedic from Northern California, was 42 when he was blindsided, punched, and kicked in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on March 31, 2011. He suffered a fractured skull and severe brain damage, went into cardiac arrest five times the first night, and spent nine months in a medically induced coma. Part of his skull was surgically removed.11ABC7. Bryan Stow, Giants Fan Attacked at Dodger Stadium
He now lives outside Santa Cruz and requires daily care from his parents. He walks with a cane and works with his son Tyler at a gym in Scotts Valley on the goal of walking unassisted. He founded the Bryan Stow Foundation, which addresses bullying and fan violence, and by 2019 had delivered more than 250 school presentations across Northern California.8San Francisco Chronicle. Giants Fan Bryan Stow Finds Purpose in a Life Forever Changed The care he needs is lifelong. The money set aside to pay for it, on the public record, is a fraction of what his own experts told the jury it would take.