A court awards $5.6 million to the family of a man who had a screwdriver shaft implanted in his spine by an orthopedic surgeon.

The jury found Dr. Robert Ricketson, 48, negligent after he attached the stainless steel screwdriver to Arturo Iturralde's spine in 2001.

The Associated Press reports the tool snapped two days later, forcing Iturralde to get two more back surgeries. He died two years later.

Family attorney Mike Davis says the jury also found Hilo Medical Center negligent for credentialing Ricketson and allowing him to operate. He says the doctor's medical license had been suspended in Oklahoma and Texas prior to arriving in Hawaii.

Ricketson argues that he acted properly because two titanium rods he planned to attach to Iturralde's spine were discovered missing during the operation.

After seeing that the rods were missing, Ricketson used a hacksaw to cut off the screwdriver's shaft and inserted it into Iturralde.