Richard Wayne Barfield is getting one last shot at forcing the state to pay for the injuries he continues to suffer after a state trooper bashed in his skull during a traffic stop 23 years ago.

The state did not dispute that the trooper, Geary Blackwood, who was later dismissed, had badly beaten Barfield after arresting him outside a convenience store in Fayetteville. Barfield's head injuries were so severe that surgeons removed a piece of his skull and patched his head with cranial plaster and a plate. A federal jury later awarded Barfield $500,000.

But Barfield wound up with no money. Blackwood had no assets to collect. The state said it didn't have to pay because the trooper had acted outside of the scope of his authority. A federal appeals court ruled in 1993 that a federal judge could not require the state to pay for the beating.

"It's been 23 years, and I've gotten no satisfaction in any way, shape or form," said Barfield, 50, who lives in the Cumberland County town of Wade. "It has affected me. It's made me bitter."

Barfield gets a second chance at compensation because his attorney, J. Michael Gay of Hillsborough, convinced state lawmakers three years ago to change the law so that state officials could no longer deny claims under the "outside of scope of authority" defense if a judge has ruled otherwise. The new law gives Barfield the opportunity to be heard before the N.C. Industrial Commission, which hears injury claims against the state.

Today, Deputy Commissioner Wanda Taylor will hear arguments about the case. She will decide whether to grant compensation to Barfield, dismiss his claim as the state wants, or call for an evidentiary hearing. The most she can award is $100,000, which was the maximum amount the commission could pay in 1985, when Barfield and Blackwood first crossed paths.

According to court records and news accounts, Blackwood stopped Barfield on suspicion of drunken driving. The trooper put Barfield in the back of the patrol car and went to talk to a passenger in Barfield's car. Barfield said his problems began when he stepped out of the patrol car to toss a cigarette.

Barfield said Blackwood grabbed him, shoved him up against the vehicle and told him he was going to beat him.

Barfield ran. He said Blackwood caught him and beat him with either a flashlight or a blackjack, and the beating continued after the trooper handcuffed him.

Blackwood, 56, now lives in Chapel Hill and works as a landscaper and farmer. He said in an interview that Barfield swung at him with a two-by-four. The trooper said he defended himself without using deadly force. He said the state let him go to avoid responsibility for his actions.

"It was just a situation that the state was really trying to protect themselves and figured they could lose an officer and protect themselves and not worry about it," Blackwood said. "But it didn't work out that way."

The state Attorney General's Office is defending the Highway Patrol in the case. A spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office said it could not comment because of pending litigation.

Papers that Special Deputy Attorney General William Borden filed with the commission show the state maintains it should not be held responsible because Blackwood acted outside of his authority. Borden also claims that the three-year statute of limitations on claims filed before the commission has expired.

He also challenged the new state law, saying it is "narrowly drawn in an attempt to allow ... [Barfield's] case."

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, does not dispute introducing the legislation in response to the Barfield case. But he also said he wants to end what he thinks is an irresponsible line of defense.

Barfield "has been hugely, hugely damaged, and the state should not be able to avoid it," Rand said. "It's our responsibility, and we ought to take care of it."

Today, Barfield said he continues to suffer from the beating, which also left his jaw broken and his right shoulder dislocated.

He said he has severe headaches. His jaw clicks when he eats, and he can't raise his right arm above his head. Odd jobs are about all he can do to help pay the bills. He said he has grown his thinning hair long to comb over the 9-inch scar that curls from his forehead to behind his right ear "like a question mark."

But he said what hurts him most is how the state treated him.

"They are always going to know that what they done was wrong," Barfield said. "It's left a scarring and a mental anguish that there's no amount of words or anything that I can describe how it makes me feel inside."

He said he does not plan to attend today's hearing, since he is not needed as a witness. He said he wants to avoid being a part of the process as much as possible, because it reminds him too much of the past.