Woman Beaten by Husband Wins Suit

Hirsch said he had been practicing domestic law for 20 years, and the photos of Martin's injuries "are fairly shocking. And I'm very careful how I choose my words. Shocking is the word I would choose."

After the divorce trial, Fairfax Circuit Judge Gaylord L. Finch Jr. ordered Lofgren to pay Martin $2,000 a month in spousal support and $10,000 for her attorney's fees. The couple were married in April 2002, separated in November 2004 and finalized their divorce in February 2006.

At the end of the civil trial, Martin's attorneys, Richard F. MacDowell Jr. and Mehagen D. McRae of Fairfax City, asked for $650,000 in damages for Martin's actual costs plus pain and suffering and an additional $350,000, the maximum allowed in Virginia, in punitive damages. Jurors said they thought the $650,000 figure was too high, since Martin's estimated medical costs were about $80,000.

But they wanted to go slightly above the $350,000 punitive figure, juror Cynthia S. Deatherage said.

"We did want to send a message that no matter what the circumstance, nobody deserves that kind of treatment," she said. So the jury awarded $351,000 in punitive damages and $200,000 in actual damages. The punitive award was reduced by $1,000 because of a state cap of which jurors were not aware.

Juror Carey A. Williams said that "some of the testimony showed us he was cruel and inhumane. I have a problem with frivolous lawsuits, but I didn't feel this was frivolous. I felt she had a right to ask for compensation for the damage he did to her."

Martin said she had been attacked by Lofgren once before, in July 2002. She said Lofgren beat her with a tree limb and pushed her into some weight equipment, breaking two of her ribs and puncturing one of her lungs. But she did not call police. Her attorneys said that after that incident, Martin resolved to get proof if she were beaten again.

The second episode occurred Sept. 17, 2003, when Lofgren attacked Martin in an apparent drunken rage. Martin testified that Lofgren picked her up, threw her down on her back, then pinned her arms with his knees while he pummeled her face.

Lofgren fled into woods near their house, and police searched for Lofgren while Martin went to the hospital. When Martin returned home to collect her keys and some belongings, Lofgren was inside waiting. He told her the only way she would leave Virginia "was in a pine box," Martin testified. Lofgren took her keys and money and prevented her from leaving or calling for help, Martin said. She stayed with Lofgren until November 2003.

Margaret Drew, the former head of the American Bar Association's Domestic Violence Commission, said that lawsuits are "something that 90 percent of victims never think of." She said the prospect of more months or years in court is daunting, but "in the last few years, I think more lawyers who represent domestic violence victims are discussing the possibility of bringing a civil action."

Martin said she still feared Lofgren but agreed to tell her story because she wants "women to know there is help out there. There are legal ways to help yourself, and that they need to get out of their situations."