Jury Awards $500K to Young Burn Victim

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — A jury in southern Minnesota has awarded $500,000 to a boy who was badly burned after falling into a fire pit at a YMCA camp in 2013.

Jurors in Le Sueur County determined the Y was 80 percent responsible for injuries to 11-year-old Sir Spartucus Marion Sanders. He was 9 when he tripped and fell into the fire pit at Camp Patterson, suffering second- and third-degree burns to his right arm, hand and left wrist. He's had three surgeries since then and has extensive scarring from skin grafts.

The Free Press reports the Y and the camp argued the boy tripped because his shoelaces weren't tied and that no one was at fault. But, the boy's attorney argued the Y needed to do more to keep campers away from danger.