Gallagher Not Laughing Off Suit : Courts: Woman claims injury from comic’s prop has plagued her for three years. She wants at least $100,000.

SANTA ANA — There, perched before the Orange County Superior Court jury, sat the unlikely source of the pain and suffering that Robin Vann says has plagued her for three years--a two-foot-tall, brown, furry penguin doll with a small red bow tie.

Vann, 29, is suing the owner of the penguin, impish comedian Gallagher, over the head injuries she said resulted when the stage prop--and the weighty fire extinguisher inside it--came hurtling down at her during a 1990 performance.

Outside the courtroom, Gallagher, who has not yet taken the stand in the trial, declined to explain the circumstances that led to the incident. But he said he was surprised by the trouble caused by the cuddly prop, which he still uses on stage.

“I do think the penguin is innocent,” he said.

In her lawsuit, which seeks damages in excess of $100,000, Vann of Rancho Santa Margarita claims she has suffered unrelenting headaches, neck stiffness and back pain after being struck by the penguin.

The penguin, like the other props and gadgets that are part of Gallagher’s comedy repertoire, was on stage with him during his performance Sept. 29, 1990, at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

Both sides declined Tuesday to explain how they believe the accident occurred.

“I can’t say,” said Gallagher, who is famous for a skit in which he crushes a watermelon with a sledgehammer and showers audiences with the fruit. “It’s going to take five days in court here to do that.”

Tustin neurologist David Holstein testified Tuesday that the injuries caused by the prop, which Gallagher used to spray audience members just before the incident, have left Vann “miserable.”

“There is not a good medicine that’s going to help this,” Holstein said. “Seldom is there a drug or treatment that’s going to shorten the course” of lingering after-effects of a traumatic injury, he said.

Vann, who was taken to Saddleback Memorial Hospital immediately after the incident, claims in her suit that the injuries caused her to miss six months of work.

Testimony will continue in the case today before Judge William R. Froeberg, and the defense will likely try to show that a car accident Vann was involved in after the comedy show may be the source of her ailments.