Beginner jiu-jitsu student awarded $56M after black-belt instructor paralyzed him from the neck down
A jiu-jitsu student has been awarded $56 million after he was left paralyzed from the neck down by a black-belt instructor known as “Sinistro.”
Jack Greener, 30, was a beginner white belt sparring with his teacher, second-degree black belt Francisco Iturralde, 33, when he suffered the catastrophic injury in 2018, crushing his cervical vertebrae and rendering him a quadriplegic.
Video showed the beginner on all fours when his instructor flips him forward, awkwardly twisting him face down and twisting his neck.
“The black belt instructor did a technique that placed his entire body weight on Greener’s neck, causing him to instantly fall limp and lose all function of his limbs,” said BJJ legend Rener Gracie, who was called as an expert witness in the case.
Greener was hospitalized for several months, suffering multiple strokes as a result of his injuries — which came just weeks before he was due to graduate from college, his attorneys said.
He sued the Del Mar Jiu Jitsu club in San Diego for the injuries he blamed on Iturralde, who earned the nickname “Sinistro,” or “Sinister,” for his “dynamic, aggressive grappling style,” on a site selling online instructionals.
Greener, who is now a mountain climber and motivational speaker, was first awarded $46 million by a San Diego jury in 2023.
The studio appealed the decision to the California Supreme Court, which declined to overturn the judgment this week.
The verdict was also affirmed by a state appellate panel late last year.
With post-judgment interest, the award now exceeds $56 million, Greener’s attorneys said.
The final appellate court’s ruling “cements a critical legal victory not only for our client, but also for injured athletes across California by reaffirming that sports instructors and facilities may be held accountable when they unreasonably increase risks beyond those inherent in the sport,” said one of Greener’s attorneys, Rahul Ravipudi.
