A woman after being sick on school trip to China was awarded $41.7 million, she sued the prestigious Connecticut boarding school after contracting a tick-borne illness, that left her unable to speak and brain damaged.

The federal jury in Bridgeport announced the school was found to be negligent after an eight-day trial over three weeks.

Cara Munn, now 20, then 15 a freshman at The Hotchkiss School because ill after hiking in a rural area of China known for tick and mosquito infestation.

"I think the take-away message is that schools need to be a lot more careful when they're taking other people's minor children overseas," said the former student's lawyer, Antonio Ponvert.

"Hotchkiss failed to take basic safety precautions to protect the minor children in its care," Ponvert said. "I hope that this case will help alert all schools who sponsor overseas trips for minors that they need to check the CDC for disease risks in the areas where they will be travelling, and that they must advise children in their care to use repellant and wear proper clothing when necessary. Cara's injuries were easily preventable."

"We care deeply about all our students," spokeswoman Roberta Jenckes said in a statement. "We make every effort to protect them, whether they are here or participating in a school-sponsored activity off-campus. We put great care and thought into planning and administering off-campus programs, and we extend the same care to students on these trips as to students on campus."

She added, "We remain very saddened by this student's illness. We continue to hope for improvements to her health."