Claimed CAT Scan Stole Her Powers : Judge Overrules Jury’s Award to Psychic

A judge has thrown out a “grossly excessive” $986,000 jury award to a woman who claimed that she lost her psychic powers after a CAT scan and could no longer earn a living reading auras.

“I thought it was a courageous and correct decision,” Richard Galli, an attorney representing Temple University Hospital, said Friday. “He kind of took the bull by the horns and said, ‘Yes, this award was excessive.’ ”

Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Leon Katz last week ordered a new trial in the case, saying the jury’s award was “so grossly excessive as to shock the court’s sense of justice.”

During a trial in March, Judith Haimes testified that she had been born with psychic powers and could interpret auras--a glow that surrounds people--to discover things about individuals, including their past and future.

Haimes testified that she conducted a psychic business in New Castle, Del., assisted law enforcement agencies with her powers, and lectured and appeared on radio and television.

But Haimes, who now lives in Clearwater, Fla., claimed that a CAT scan she underwent at Temple in 1976 caused her to be unable to use her psychic powers because she suffered severe headaches whenever she tried to concentrate. A CAT scan is a computerized X-ray technique.

Joel Lieberman, Haimes’ attorney, could not be reached for comment.