A beginner jiu-jitsu student in California was awarded $56 million ($77 million CDN) after being paralyzed by his black belt instructor during a sparring session.

Jack Greener, 30, a white belt, had been sparring with Francisco Iturralde, 33, during a Brazilian jiu-jitsu session in Del Mar, California, when he suffered the devastating spinal cord injury, KNSD reported.

The incident took place on Nov. 29, 2018, at Del Mar Jiu-Jitsu Club, when the two men were paired up.

Iturralde, a second-degree black belt, put his entire weight on Greener in a position that crushed the student’s cervical vertebrae, rendering him a paraplegic.

Greener was hospitalized for several months and suffered multiple strokes among a series of other ailments, according to his attorneys.

The injured man was we

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