A Watseka woman was awarded $250,000 after she fell over a bundle of PVC pipes inside the Menards store in Bradley.

The hardware chain offered to settle the case for $61,000, but LouWonna Snodgrass asked for $88,000 to cover medical expenses. It went to trial.

More than eight years after the 2006 incident, which allegedly left Snodgrass with a herniated disc in her neck, a Kankakee County jury last Friday said Menards must now pay nearly three times as much.

“I think the jurors saw her as an honest woman,” said Ryan Yagoda, the woman’s attorney. “She was awarded 10 weeks of disability coverage, but she was working from home within four weeks and working part-time with eight weeks. She isn’t some sort of opportunist looking for a payday.”

According to The Legal Finance Journal, an industry trade group, only 4 percent of personal injury lawsuits ever make it to trial. And when it comes to cases like the one Snodgrass was involved in, only 39 percent of plaintiffs win. The median amount of money awarded by juries is $90,000.

The incident occurred on New Years Day near the customer return desk.

“There was video surveillance of the fall showing that she had no idea the pipes were left in such a dangerous location,” Yagoda said.

Snodgrass underwent surgery in 2008 after two years of treatment, he said.

Despite hearing testimony from a medical witness for Menards, the jury ruled in favor of Snodgrass, saying the retail chain must pay for her medical bills, loss of normal life activities, as well as pain and suffering.

Both Snodgrass and Menards declined to comment.