A jury on Friday ordered the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to pay more than $11 million to a motorcyclist who suffered severe, life-altering injuries in a collision with a department van in 2019, according to lawyers representing the man.
The verdict came at the end of tense and heated debates in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the law firm Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP said.
On April 12, 2019, Grady Dillon was riding his motorcycle in downtown Los Angeles when he was involved in a collision with LADWP driver Manuel Medina, who was in control of a work van.
His lawyers say Dillon, who was 38 at the time of the crash, suffered fractures to his pelvis, ribs, left wrist and right foot, and a lacerated spleen. He was hospitalized for 12 days, where he had two major surgeries, and spent almost four months at a rehabilitation facility. He’s had three more surgeries, including a lumbar fusion, since.
The dispute between Dillon and the department was over the fault of the crash. Dillon’s lawyers argued that Medina made an unsafe left-hand turn directly into Dillon’s path.
In a statement, the LADWP told KTLA that Dillon was going 59 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone at the time of the crash.
“The safety of the public and our employees is our highest priority. The Plaintiff was traveling 59 mph in a 35 mph zone and asked the jury for $28 million,” the department said. “We are considering our options for appeal”.
The jury ultimately sided with Dillon and awarded him $11,045,000, according to Panish.
“The City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power fought us every step of the way,” said Robert Glassman, a partner at the law firm representing Dillon. “They asked the jury to award our client nothing and find him 100% at fault for a motor vehicle collision that was not his fault. We are thankful the jury got it right and delivered a just verdict based on the evidence and their common sense.”