CLAREMORE, OK (CNN) -- The civil trial between country singer Garth Brooks and an Oklahoma hospital is over. A jury ruled Integris Health Systems must pay Brooks $1 million for failing to name a building after his mother after he donated $500,000 to the hospital for that very reason.
People waited outside the courthouse to congratulate Garth. Garth says it was the courage of the jury to put their names on this case and give him the verdict he was after. Garth says, "I no longer feel like I'm crazy, well, in this regard, anyway. You know what I mean?"
He says this is the hardest thing he's ever been through. He says, "I'm never going to be here again. I can tell you that. Forget it. This was the hardest thing. I can't imagine. And this jury trial was only for money. Imagine you're waiting for that verdict. That's the longest time of my life."
The jury was out only a few short minutes to award punitive damages, and one juror explained why that was. One juror says, "Because we wanted to show them not to do that anymore to other people who couldn't take them to court if they needed to."
Integris Medical is upset because the jury did award more money than the original donation and they say this case will not change how they take donations from people. Hardy Watkins with Integris Health Systems says, "We have a tremendous track record of very successful donation. You see that on buildings and in specialty service areas within our hospitals already. And, so, I think our track record, our decades of good service, really speaks to that."
But Garth does have a promise. He says, "One day, mom's name is going to go on the women's center right there where the hospital is. But that hospital won't be owned by Integris when it happens. I can tell you that. That's my dream."