A South Carolina jury has awarded $4.4 million to a teenager who was severely injured after he was electrocuted by a downed power line that did not shut off properly like it had been designed to do.

The electrocution lawsuit was filed by Xavier Massey against Duke Power Co. for injuries he sustained following a car accident in 2006 when Massey was 13.

Massey was the passenger in a one car accident in 2006 where the vehicle hit a utility pole during a rainstorm. The impact knocked down three power lines. Two of the power lines turned off automatically like they were designed to do, but the third power line remained live.

When Massey got out of the car, he was electrocuted by the power line, resulting in severe injuries to his feet, hands and elbows. The high voltage surge burned 4 percent of his body and caused him to have several toes amputated. He is expected to need at least five more surgeries and has medical expenses totaling more than $600,000 with estimated future expenses around $3 million.

In Massey’s complaint against Duke Power Co. he alleged the safety features designed to prevent electrocution accidents required by the National Electrical Safety Code failed because one of the 65-amp fuses used by the lines at the time of the accident was too big.

After the accident, Duke Power Co. declared the site protected by “anticipation of litigation” and maintained that they did not have to divulge information because it could be used in an impending lawsuit. But the company did not preserve evidence from the scene and the judge told the jury to deem any missing evidence as unfavorable to Duke.

According to South Carolina Lawyers Weekly, during the trial, Duke Power tried to argue that Massey was partially responsible for his own injuries and should have avoided the wires. The judge disagreed and said Massey was not accountable for any of his injuries and awarded $4.4 million in damages.