Top Slip & Fall Verdicts and Settlements

$32 Million Verdict Against ExxonMobil for Truck Driver Who Developed CRPS After Slip on Spilled Oil

A Cook County jury awarded $32 million to truck driver Stephanie Johnson, who developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome after slipping on oil at an ExxonMobil facility, in what the Jury Verdict Reporter recorded as the largest CRPS verdict in Illinois history.

Indiana Jury Awards Neurosurgeon $16.95 Million After Career-Ending Fall on a Hospital Pantry Floor

After a neurosurgeon slipped on a wet hospital pantry floor and developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy that ended his surgical career, an Evansville jury found St. Mary's Medical Center fully at fault and awarded $16.95 million, a verdict the Indiana Court of Appeals later affirmed.

Kern County Jury Awards $16.2 Million Over El Pollo Loco Fall

A Kern County jury awarded William Kidd and his wife Elaine $16.2 million after he slipped at a Bakersfield El Pollo Loco and suffered a brain injury that later required surgery.

Las Vegas Jury Awards $16.4 Million Against Lowe's Over Garden Center Fall, $13.14 Million After Fault

A Clark County jury held Lowe's responsible after Kelly Hendrickson slipped on liquid draining from store planters, fractured her skull, and permanently lost her senses of taste and smell.

After trial: Net of fault: the jury awarded about $16.43 million and found Hendrickson 20 percent at fault, so Nevada's comparative negligence rule reduced her recovery to about $13.14 million. No appeal or payment has been reported.

Jury Awards $13.1 Million After Algae-Covered Sidewalk Fall Ruptures Athlete's Quadriceps

A King County jury awarded Lesley Mettler Auld $13.1 million after she slipped on an algae-covered Seattle sidewalk in July 2021 and ruptured both quadriceps tendons. Jurors found both the City of Seattle and 14th & Dravus LLC, the owner of the adjacent apartment building, negligent, and split the fault 52 percent to the property owner and 48 percent to the city over an overgrown hedge that shaded the walkway and the moss and algae that grew under it. Auld, a longtime personal trainer and 14-time Ironman finisher, had three surgeries to repair the tendons, and her examining physicians said she would need at least three more operations on her right knee and could lose the right leg above the knee if those failed. The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in March 2026, and 14th & Dravus has since asked the state Supreme Court to take up the case.

After trial: On appeal. The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in an unpublished opinion on March 23, 2026, and the property owner petitioned the Washington Supreme Court for review on May 28, 2026. See more

Hotel Guest Awarded $9.45 Million After Falling Into Drained Courtyard Fountain

A Dallas County jury awarded $9.45 million to James Shelton McClure, 74, after he stepped into an unlit, drained fountain basin in the courtyard of Hotel Crescent Court while walking his dog just after midnight on March 6, 2021. McClure and his wife were staying at the hotel because Winter Storm Uri had knocked out power at their own home. The fall broke his ankle, requiring four surgeries and an eventual total ankle replacement, and aggravated a preexisting neck condition that left him with nerve damage in his dominant hand. After a weeklong trial, the jury found the hotel 95 percent responsible and McClure 5 percent responsible. Tim Newsom of The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson, P.C. led the trial team, with Debbie Dudley Branson and Linda Yee Villa. The trial court signed judgment on the verdict in September 2025, and the hotel operators appealed; the appeal is pending.

After trial: On appeal. Judgment was signed September 8, 2025, and the defendants moved for a new trial and filed a notice of appeal on December 4, 2025, which is pending in the Seventh Court of Appeals. See more

Vista Jury Awards Chiropractor $7.5 Million After Starbucks Floor Slip and Brain Injury

A San Diego County jury ordered Starbucks to pay roughly $7.5 million after chiropractor Anthony Zaccaglin slipped on a freshly mopped store floor, struck his head, and suffered a brain injury that ended his career.

Grocery Chain Ordered to Pay $6.68 Million After 56-Year-Old Slips on Grape at El Monte Food4Less

An 11-day jury trial in Los Angeles ended with a $6.68 million verdict for a 56-year-old customer who slipped on a single grape in the condiments aisle of an El Monte Food4Less, sustaining serious spinal injuries.

$6.63 Million Verdict Against Home Depot After Customer Falls on Unsafe Store Flooring in Los Angeles

A Los Angeles jury awarded Henrietta Castrellon $6,626,603 after she slipped and fell on an unsafe floor condition at a Home Depot store, in a result the Daily Journal described as potentially the largest such verdict against the company in California.

Salsa Dancer Awarded $6.45 Million After Slipping on Fish Guts Outside Upper West Side Citarella

A Manhattan jury awarded $6.45 million to a 53-year-old avid salsa dancer who slipped on fish guts left on a Broadway sidewalk outside the Citarella gourmet grocery, dislocated her knee, tore three ligaments, and required at least 12 surgeries over 11 years.

$5.3 Million Settlement for Woman Needing Multiple Spinal Surgeries After Grease Spill at LAVO Restaurant

A woman who slipped on grease in a common area shared by her employer and LAVO, a nightclub-restaurant then owned by a Madison Square Garden Entertainment subsidiary, suffered neck and back injuries requiring multiple surgeries and settled her case for $5.3 million in 2023.

Miami-Dade Jury Awards $4.8 Million After Winn-Dixie Shopper Needs Three Spinal Surgeries

A Miami-Dade jury returned a $4,877,775 verdict for Juan Del Valle, who slipped on water from a leaking produce refrigeration unit at a Winn-Dixie in Miami Lakes and underwent three spinal surgeries, leaving him with permanent hardware in his spine.

$3 Million Verdict for Handyman Who Lost Use of Dominant Hand After Tripping Over Hidden Wire Mesh

A Palm Beach County jury awarded $3 million to Darrell Phillips, a handyman who fractured his humerus and suffered permanent radial nerve damage after tripping over wire mesh concealed in a grassy area behind a convenience store where he had been hired to repair the beer-cooler AC unit.

$2.75 Million Settlement for Building Porter Who Fell 14 Feet Through Unmarked Floor Hole

A Manhattan building porter fell 14 feet through an unguarded third-floor hole after a general contractor's superintendent removed the only cover and left without any warning, resulting in three spinal surgeries and a $2.75 million settlement.

$2 Million Verdict for Woman Who Broke Her Arm Tripping on a Gap in a Lexington County Sidewalk

A Lexington County jury awarded $2 million to Donna Roland, 60, after she tripped on a three-inch gap in a county sidewalk and broke her arm in two places while dropping off an absentee ballot during the COVID-19 pandemic.

$1.84 Million After a Man Slipped on a Restroom Puddle at Kentucky Oaks Mall and Needed Two Spine Fusions

A McCracken County jury awarded a 64-year-old man $1,837,756.05 after he slipped on a puddle in a restroom at Kentucky Oaks Mall in Paducah and fractured himself onto the floor, requiring both lumbar and cervical spine fusion surgeries.

After trial: No appeal or further post-trial proceeding has been reported. Payment is not public.

Federal Jury Awards $2 Million Over Fall in Snow-Covered Family Video Parking Lot, $1.7 Million After Fault

A federal jury found that a snow-covered crack in a Family Video parking lot caused Rosemarie Waddy's broken ankle, awarding $2 million before a 15 percent fault finding cut her recovery to about $1.7 million.

After trial: Net of fault: the jury awarded $2 million and found Waddy 15 percent at fault, so Missouri's comparative fault rule reduced her recovery to about $1.7 million. A new-trial motion was pending at last report; no ruling or payment has been reported.

$1.66M Jury Verdict for Commercial Tenant Left with Permanent Brain Damage After Stairway Fall

A Boise jury awarded more than $1.66 million to a commercial tenant who suffered permanent brain damage after falling on improperly installed stairs, a verdict affirmed on appeal by the Idaho Supreme Court.

$1.5 Million Settlement: Woman Tripped on Defective Brooklyn Sidewalk

A 62-year-old woman tripped over a broken Brooklyn sidewalk section in 2013 and suffered back and ankle injuries requiring multiple surgeries; the firm documented four years of constructive notice using Google Earth imagery and recovered $1.5 million at mediation.

$1.5 Million Verdict Against BCI Coca-Cola After Tucson Grocery Store Slip and Fall

A Tucson jury awarded $1.5 million to a woman who slipped on water leaking from a BCI Coca-Cola refrigerator at a grocery store, after the bottling company rejected a $150,000 settlement offer.