BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- It's the largest lawsuit ever awarded in Brevard County. A jury ordered a construction company to pay a former employee $76 million. The man had broken his neck while working on an Indian River seawall.

In 2002, Timothy Hoffman was a strong, fit 20-year-old. Today, he's a quadriplegic.

Attorney Don Van Dingenen used compelling images in his final argument to convince a Brevard County jury that C and D Dock Works failed to keep Hoffman safe while on the job. Hoffman broke his neck after falling 50 feet from atop a seawall in 2003.

"He had 52 life-saving procedures where they saved him 52 separate times. He was in a coma for six weeks. He was on a ventilator for nine months," Van Dingenen argued.

Since then, Hoffman has already racked up over $1.5 million in medical bills.

The most compelling piece of evidence in the case might have been the life care plan chart outlining every medical need Hoffman will have for the rest of his life, $500,000 a year just for Hoffman to stay alive.

But the payout will likely be years coming. Van Dengenen is already preparing for the appeal that will follow, but said the record payout isn't the real story.

"What needs to be taken out of this is the fight of the human spirit. This young man is a fighter. He is not a quitter and he will survive," he said.

Eyewitness News spoke with the former owner of C and D Dock Works on Thursday. Charles Brunti said he initially tried to represent himself during the trial, but was forced into bankruptcy not long after the accident that paralyzed Hoffman.