A jury in McIntosh County on the Georgia coast returned a $4.25 million verdict for a tree-cutting service worker hit by a limb from a falling pine.

Following a three-day trial before Atlantic Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Charles Paul Rose Jr., the jury awarded the sum to Howard Tyson.

Tyson lost the use of his arms and legs on Sept. 11, 2014, when a limb of a tall Georgia pine left him face down on the lawn of a beachfront home on exclusive Sea Island, according to court records.

It was the second trial for Tyson. The first ended in a hung jury with one holdout, according to his lawyers, Zachary Sprouse and Brent Savage Jr. of Savage Turner Durham Pinckney & Savage in Savannah.

It was the first verdict for Sprouse as lead plaintiffs counsel. Sprouse graduated from the University of South Carolina law school and joined the Savannah plaintiffs' powerhouse in 2017.

Savage credited Sprouse.

"I really came in at the end," Savage said. "Zach built the thing from the ground up, with a wonderful result."

Sprouse, in turn, credited Savage's direct examination of Tyson with swaying the jury. He said Savage let Tyson tell his story of what happened that day—from the wheelchair that will likely be part of his life from now on.

Tyson wasn't cutting the tree. He was part of the ground cleanup crew. But when the big pine was going down, part of it flew off toward Tyson. In the business, it's called "blowback," Sprouse and Savage said.

Sprouse and Savage alleged that Shellmar Tree Service owner Hank "Bo" Rowe took "unreasonably dangerous shortcuts" and "brushed aside rules which any prudent tree care professional must observe."

Rowe and his company were defended by W. Douglas Adams of Brunswick. Adams could not be reached for comment.

In an outline written for the consolidated pretrial summary, Adams argued that his client was not negligent, and even if he was, Tyson assumed the risk by working on the site.

The case is Tyson v. Rowe, No. SUV 2016000026.