Cruz, who suffered brain damage caused by premature birth, was a student at Miramar High School. One day at school, he became involved in an incident with another student that resulted in his head falling onto a hard surface. He and his mother sued the school board, his mother seeking damages for loss of the companionship of her son. The jury found the school board negligent and awarded Cruz $2,697,725 and his mother $3.5 million. However, the trial judge reduced the mother's award to $1 million on grounds that awards for lost companionship could not extend beyond the time Cruz became an adult. The Fourth District Court reversed the entire judgment for other reasons, but agreed that at retrial the jury could not award lost companionship damages for Cruz's adult years.