Man Paralyzed by Nail Gun Settles Suit for $15.3 Million

A man hospitalized since being left quadriplegic by a gun-fired nail that severed his spine two years ago has settled a lawsuit for $15.35 million and says he’ll use some of the money to help him return home.

Eugene Doran, an insurance agent and Vietnam veteran, was getting a haircut at a barbershop in suburban Andover on April 15, 1986, when he was hit by a 3-inch nail fired from a high-velocity gun being used to install a storage chest next door.

The settlement, reached Wednesday in the second day of a U.S. District Court trial and described as one of the largest of its kind in the nation, is to be paid by Taylor Rental Corp., its Andover franchise and makers of the nail gun, Doran’s lawyers said.

“Here’s a guy who came through Vietnam and the Tet offensive unscathed only to be shot down while having his hair cut,” said one of the lawyers, James Meehan.

The 40-year-old Doran, who has been hospitalized since the accident, said he will use part of the money to fit his home with lifts and ramps.

“I’m just very relieved that one item--a very important item--is off our shoulders,” said Doran, accompanied by his wife, Kathy, at a news conference at the Veterans Administration Hospital here. The couple have three children.

“I really have never had much anger . . . maybe because it was an accident,” he said. “I couldn’t even tell you the man’s name who did it. I never asked. I have frustration at times . . . and this has changed my family’s life. I’m just glad it’s over.”