Kansas City, Kan. ? A jury has awarded a $16 million verdict to a northeast Kansas teenager who was left quadriplegic after diving into a lake.

Bradley Hudspeth, 18, was injured in August 2005 while diving with friends at Lake Quivira, located in a private residential community of the same name that spans the Wyandotte-Johnson county line.

Instead of diving from the end of the dock, Hudspeth dove from the side, unaware that the water there was less than 4 feet deep. He broke his neck and, although he has some use of his arms, he has been diagnosed quadriplegic and will be wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life.

Hudspeth’s family sued Quivira Inc. – the corporation that owns the common areas of Lake Quivira – as well as a company that had been hired to provide lifeguard services.

On Friday, a Wyandotte County District Court jury awarded Hudspeth $20 million in compensatory damages. But the jury found Hudspeth 20 percent at fault for his injuries, reducing the verdict to $16 million.

Quivira Inc. was held responsible for about $15 million of the award and the lifeguard company for the rest. Attorneys for the companies did not immediately comment on whether appeals were planned.

Michael Rader, one of Hudspeth’s attorneys, said most of the award will pay for Hudspeth’s past and future medical care. The attorneys declined to say how much of the award they will receive.

Their main argument during the trial was that the defendants failed to establish clear and consistently enforced rules about diving off the dock. “No Diving” signs that had been posted in the late 1990s were not replaced when the dock was resurfaced, attorney James Frickleton said.

Hudspeth, who lives with his family in Shawnee, underwent almost two years of therapy and rehabilitation. He is on a waiting list to enroll at a Kansas City area high school that has a program for students with disabilities like his.