Sure, a lot of New York residents have slipped and fallen and then gotten up, brushed themselves off and walked away, hoping no one saw them. But it's just a fact that not every slip-and-fall incident can just be "brushed off." In some cases, people are very badly hurt after a slip and fall.

That's the case with the 49-year-old man was shopping at a Kroger grocery in May 2008 store when he slipped on some crushed fruit and fell on his back.

The man was badly injured during the accident. He damaged his spine in a way that required surgery to install screws and rods to keep his spinal column stable. All told, his medical bills tallied $135,000 and he was not able to return to work as a commercial landscaper.

He sued the grocery store chain, alleging that they should have cleaned up the crushed fruit earlier. Even worse was when he and his attorney found out that the grocery store had lied about whether store security cameras had footage of the accident (they did), had destroyed footage of the man's fall and then had give the man and his attorney fake video, claiming it was what the camera caught.

Despite the defendant's misdeeds, the man was successful in his lawsuit and was awarded $2.3 million.

Now, it would be wrong to assume that the defendant would be so dastardly in every slip-and-fall case. Many companies are very careful to play by the rules. But just in case, you might want to make sure that you have a thorough and vigilant attorney on your side to make sure you do not get taken advantage of.

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Gwinnett jury returns $2.3 million verdict in slip-and-fall lawsuit against Kroger," Andria Simmons, Jan. 26, 2012