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Family Awarded $21.5 Million In Case Of Drowning 6-Year-Old

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A south suburban family on Tuesday was awarded $21.5 million in a drowning case.

Michal Duda drowned in a Bridgeview Park District pool in July 2014.

drowning vic
Michal Duda, 6, died in 2014 in a drowning accident

The 6-year-old was under the care of counselors at the "Fun in the Sun" camp program.

Court documents show the boy did not know how to swim, and camp counselors were aware.

"He ends up on the bottom of the pool, with his head underwater in a vertical position for nine minutes and 20 seconds," said Duda family attorney Brad Cosgrove.

Video shown in court revealed three camp counselors who were supposed to be watching Duda's age group were inside the pool's locker room instead.

Cosgrove said the $21 million verdict is a record for a drowning in Illinois.

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