Manufacturer held liable for $104 million.(Newsroom)

A Miami jury has awarded the family of a local teen $104 million after a suction entrapment accident at an apartment pool left him in a permanent vegetative state.

The award broke a state record, yet it only covers compensatory damages. As of this writing, the judge had not yet decided if the boy's lawyers can pursue punitive damages.

Sta-Rite Industries, manufacturer of the pump that allegedly contributed to the accident, and its insurance provider will appeal, said company attorney Karl Sturge, with the firm Marlow, Connell, Valerius, Abrams, Adler, Newman & Lewis in Coral Gables, Fla.

"This was a terrible and tragic accident," said Rick White, a spokesperson for the Delavan, Wis.-based manufacturer. "A young man's life was changed forever. While that should be the primary focus, we're disappointed in the jury's decision in the case."

On June 17, 2000, Lorenzo Peterson, then 14, got his arm stuck in the apartment pool's main drain after a friend had removed the drain cover. Nobody knows if Peterson intentionally stuck his arm in the drain.

According to Peterson's attorneys, he was underwater for more than 12 minutes while a group of adults tried to pry him loose. Now 18, the teen requires 24-hour care, said Michael Haggard of the law firm Haggard, Parks, Haggard and Bologna in Miami.

Haggard ...