When it comes to making decisions about what's reasonable compensation for a slip and fall injury, Wisconsin attorneys with experience in such cases know it's best not to rely on the payor to make the call. The chances are good that any figure the liable party comes up with will be short of the mark.

That was the finding of a jury recently in connection with a slip and fall incident at a Starbucks. The accident happened in another state, but considering we have a few of the coffee shop stores in our area, it's safe to say it could happen in Wisconsin, too.

It happened in March 2008. A chiropractor in Southern California was at his local Starbucks picking up an order when his feet zipped out from under him. An employee had just mopped a section of the floor. The doctor hit his head hard when he went down. The next day, he went to a doctor suffering from persistent head pain and nausea.

At first, doctors said it was just a concussion. But later, it was determined that the chiropractor had suffered brain trauma. What followed was more than a year of therapy and the doctor is still unable to work.

The chiropractor's attorney says Starbucks offered to settle the matter for $100,000. But the jury that heard the case awarded the man and his family $7.5 million to cover his loss of income, loss of enjoyment of life and medical expenses.

During the trial, the manager of the Starbucks testified that she had placed three warning cones out to alert customers to the wet floor danger. But other witnesses reportedly testified that they only saw one.

Starbucks says it's disappointed that its efforts to reach what it calls a reasonable settlement were unsuccessful.

Source: Claims Journal, "California Man Awarded $7.5M After Slip and Fall at Starbucks," Dec. 27, 2012