March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Detroit Pistons guard Allen Iverson must pay $260,000 in damages to a man injured by the basketball player’s bodyguards in a Washington bar fight in 2005, a federal appeals court ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today upheld a jury’s finding that Iverson’s bodyguard, Jason Kane, attacked bar patron Marlin Godfrey and that Iverson stood and watched without attempting to stop the beating.

Godfrey said in court papers that he suffered a concussion, a ruptured eardrum, a burst blood vessel in his eye and a torn rotator cuff in the July 2005 scuffle with Iverson’s security detail. The altercation occurred when the basketball star’s entourage attempted to take over the bar’s VIP section, according to court papers. No criminal charges were filed.

“We find no error in the district court’s ruling that the jury did not need the assistance of expert testimony to determine the standard of care Iverson owed to Godfrey,” Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Raymond Randolph wrote in the opinion.

The three-judge panel also rejected a cross-appeal by Godfrey over some of the lower court’s evidentiary findings. Godfrey, who also alleged he suffered emotional injury, had sought $20 million in damages.

David Rosenberg, a lawyer who represented Iverson, didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Iverson, 33, spent more than 10 seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in December 2006. He was traded to the Pistons in November.

The case is Godfrey v. Iverson, 05cv2044, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cary O’Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net; To contact the reporter on this story: Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware, at jfeeley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 24, 2009 11:55 EDT