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

Stephanie Johnson was working as a truck driver when she visited an ExxonMobil facility and stepped into a pool of oil left on the floor. She fell, landing on her left hand. The injury did not heal in the ordinary sense. Over the months that followed, Johnson developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a chronic pain condition with no known cure. Doctors describe CRPS as a disorder in which the nervous system continues generating severe pain long after the original wound has closed.

ExxonMobil contested virtually every element of the case at trial. The company argued the oil spill was minimal and could not have caused a fall, disputed whether the incident occurred as Johnson described, and put forward an alternative theory: that her ongoing pain stemmed from somatoform disorder tied to prior trauma rather than any physical injury caused by the fall. The jury was not persuaded.

The trial ran from September 10 to September 22, 2025, in the Cook County Circuit Court. Clifford Horwitz led the courtroom team for Johnson, joined by David Starshak and Gabriel Drury of Horwitz, Horwitz and Associates. The firm had received a settlement offer of $100,000 from ExxonMobil the day before trial began.

On September 22, the jury returned a verdict of $32 million, covering past and future damages. The award included no punitive component. ExxonMobil called the verdict 'irrational' and 'completely untethered to the evidence presented at trial,' pledging to pursue all available appellate relief. No reduction had been ordered as of the date of publication.

Legal observers noted the result as the largest verdict in Illinois history arising from a CRPS diagnosis in a slip-and-fall case.