They were the best of friends — until an ear came between them.
During a drunken brawl, Michael O’Driscoll of Plymouth, allegedly chomped on his friend Anthony Corbett’s left lobe, taking a chunk out of it.
O’Driscoll was arraigned on criminal charges in the case back in June, but on April 11 he was hit with a civil suit filed in Plymouth Superior Court by Corbett, his erstwhile friend.
Corbett and O’Driscoll were celebrating O’Driscoll’s 40th birthday last June 8 by taking a sightseeing cruise around Plymouth Harbor. They also visited New World Tavern on Main Street. And, according to police, a lot of alcohol was involved.
Afterwards, a group that included O’Driscoll’s pregnant wife, Katelyn, met back at O’Driscoll’s home on Spooner Street. That’s when the friendly gathering turned violent, police said.
O’Driscoll started insulting his wife and Corbett asked him to stop, according to police reports.
O’Driscoll allegedly became enraged, and the men began fighting, police said. O’Driscoll wrestled Corbett to the floor and assaulted him “continuously,” according to police.
Once Corbett was on the floor, O’Driscoll “placed his mouth over Corbett’s left ear and bit down with his teeth so forcefully that O’Driscoll bit off a chunk of his ear lobe,” police wrote.
“Don’t bite my f-ing ear off,” Corbett, 41, of Boston, reported telling police.
When officers arrived at around 1 a.m., they found a two-inch section of earlobe submerged in a cup of ice and water. (His lawsuit says he lost three inches of ear.)
O’Driscoll was arrested by Plymouth police, charged with assault and battery causing bodily injury and mayhem — both felonies. Ordered to stay away from Corbett, he is scheduled to go to trial on those criminal charges on April 29, according to court records.
Last Friday, Corbett’s lawyer, Leah Duffield, filed a lawsuit against O’Driscoll, alleging her client has suffered “catastrophic and traumatic injuries including but not limited to the loss of a large piece of his ear.”
He has undergone multiple surgeries and will likely require more — probably totaling more than $250,000, says the suit.
Court records show Corbett was treated at Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital and then transferred to Beth Israel in Boston for more specialized care and potential reconstructive surgery.
The suit includes an itemized list of more than $30,000 in medical charges he has already racked up.
Corbett has asked a judge for a court order to attach O’Driscoll’s assets — the home he and his wife own on Spooner Street, and O’Driscoll’s plastering business.
A hearing on the request is scheduled for April 23.
“Defendant intentionally physically touched plaintiff by forcing him to the ground and biting (Corbett’s) left ear so hard that a large three-inch piece came off,” the suit alleges.
Attached to the filing are several graphic photos showing Corbett’s bloody face and left ear — with and without bandages. One photo shows a line of stitches along his ear.
“As a result of his injuries, Corbett is entitled to recover damages for the following: pain and suffering, emotional distress, embarrassment and humiliation, loss of life’s pleasures, disfigurement, loss of income, cost of past and future medical treatment and therapy, and other damages,” the lawsuit said.
He’s not been able to work full time since the incident, court documents say.
Edward Harrington, O’Driscoll’s criminal lawyer, said he hadn’t yet seen the civil suit, but is looking forward to representing O’Driscoll in his upcoming trial and explaining what happened that night.
“Mr. O’Driscoll and his wife Kate have recently become parents - both work full time (a contractor and nurse respectively) and there had been no problems before or any problems since the incident,” Harrington wrote in an email.
“They are both very anxious for the criminal trial to be completed so that they may get on with their lives,” adding, that “the trial will be an opportunity to fully reveal what occurred that night in the O’Driscolls’ home, and the specific circumstances that precipitated the physical confrontation that occurred between the two — then friends.”
Harrington declined to elaborate, saying “it would not be appropriate for me to speak further as to the specifics of this open criminal matter.”
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.