A jiu-jitsu student has been awarded a staggering $56million payout after an in-class accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.
White belt Jack Greener, 30, was sparring with second-degree black belt teacher Francisco Iturralde when his cervical vertebrae was crushed in a terrifying move in 2018.
Greener sued the Del Mar Jiu Jitsu club in San Diego, California, owned by Michael Phelps, on the grounds that the club was responsible for fractured neck and spinal cord injury that he says forever altered his life.
He underwent surgery soon after the accident and, over the course of the next seven years, recovered.
Now, he is a mountain climber and motivational speaker. In 2023, an appellate district court awarded Greener $46 million in damages.
The jiu-jitsu studio appealed the decision to the California Supreme Court – but it declined to overturn the judgement.
Now, with interest, the studio has been ordered to pay a total of $56million.
Jack Greener, 30, was paralyzed from the neck down when his black belt jiu-jitsu instructor performed a move that crushed him
Greener’s instructor, Francisco Iturralde (pictured), was a second-degree black belt at the Del Mar Jiu Jitsu club
He attended classes at a different dojo but stopped because it was too far from his home, according to the court judgement.
Greener then started classes at the Del Mar Jiu Jitsu club in early November 2018. Later that month, he sparred with his instructor at the end of a class.
He was in the ‘turtle position’ with his elbows and knees on the floor when, he claimed, Iturralde ‘lost control and injured Greener.’
Iturralde testified that Greener seemed highly experienced for a white belt and had expressed a desire to be competitive.
He admitted that the move was ‘dangerous’ and he wouldn’t execute it if he ‘could not safely’ do so.
‘While sparring with Greener during a BJJ class, Iturralde gave no demonstration or active instruction,’ the court judgement read.
‘Instead, he acted more like a student coparticipant than an instructor when he immobilized and executed a series of maneuvers on Greener.
‘But as an instructor with superior knowledge and skill of BJJ, Iturralde was differently situated from other students, and thus he can—and we conclude should—be held to a different standard.’
The court concluded that there was evidence Iturralde ‘knew he had created a situation posing a heightened risk to Greener’s safety’ and argued that the risk of immobilizing a student is not inherent in jiu jitsu sparring.
The incident happened on November 29, 2018, at the Del Mar Jiu Jitsu club in San Diego, California (students pictured practicing at the club)
Greener was left quadriplegic and suffered multiple strokes after the incident
Greener (pictured on his Instagram on August 9, 2024) has become an inspiration for paralyzed athletes, documenting his journey online after the accident
Greener (pictured climbing a mountain on his Instagram on April 13) has now taken up climbing and was one of only two people with his disability to ascend 14,000 feet on foot
Phelps and Iturralde pushed back.
They said students should assume risk when participating in combat sports, but the court maintained that the black-belt instructors should be held to a higher standard than their student counterparts.
They appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court, which declined to review the case this week.
Michael Phelps (pictured), the owner of the club
Greener has since used his story to motivate others and documented his journey to become one of only two people with his disability to go above 14,000 feet on foot when he climbed Mount Bross in Colorado, according to his website.
In January 2019, he started to regain movement and could walk with the help of a cane.
His next goal is to be the first with his condition to ascend Mount Whitney in California, which has an elevation of 14,505 feet.
Last November, he posted a reflection on his Instagram about the six years since he was paralyzed.
‘6 years to infinity. The PTSD of the actual situation has all but healed.
‘Having spent April 23’ to now mending the prior four years. Which tbh is pretty cool. And I’m left to mend the remaining pieces as it pertains to courtrooms, suits and ties.
‘Honestly, I’ve not achieved much of anything in 2024 and have seemingly regressed in career, finances, etc. Much of it out of my control. But that’s ok, progress and growth isn’t linear.
‘The good news is I have a few doors in front of me And relatively speaking, I’m happy and secure. So here’s to hoping the right doors open.’
