Beer drinker awarded $650,000 for suffering

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A man whose esophagus and stomach were severely burned when he drank a beer tainted by a caustic chemical at an Atlantic City casino restaurant has been awarded $750,000.

A jury Friday awarded Richard Washart $650,000 for pain and suffering and $100,000 for emotional distress, said his attorney, Paul D’Amato.

Washart sued a McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant at Harrah’s casino, claiming he was served beer tainted by a caustic agent used to clean beer-tap lines. Harrah’s was not a defendant.

The restaurant blamed a company it uses to clean its beer lines, Kramer Beverage Co., of Hammonton, which denied being at the restaurant when Washart drank the beer on Nov. 6, 2012. The defendants each must pay half the award.

The restaurant’s parent company, Houston-based Landry’s Inc., insisted it had done nothing wrong and said it will appeal.

Gregg Tchirkow, of Monessen, claimed at Thursday’s preliminary hearing that the picture was a “cry for help” and a way to tell the court he needed psychiatric help when transitioning from prison to freedom.

Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-Defazio sent Tchirkow to prison for 18 to 36 months in 2015 for growing marijuana in his home. Prosecutors contend the letter was sent in retaliation and to terrorize the judge.