A jury in Alaska has awarded $8.6 million to a 13-year-old Native girl who suffered permanent brain damage in an accident with a folding school cafeteria table.

Taryn Andrew was 9 when she was injured at her school in the village of Quinhagak. A table made by Midwest Folding Products Corp. of Chicago collapsed on her.

The table type was known to have posed a danger to children as early as 1989. The company changed its product but not before selling four tables to the school district.

Taryn will receive $3.6 million for health care, up to $1.4 million for attorney fees and half of a $5 million punitive damage award that will be shared with the state. The company paid $10 million to the family of a boy killed by a collapsing table.

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Girl hurt by toppling table awarded $8.6 million (The Anchorage Daily News 8/8)