Los Angeles jury awards motorcyclist $28 million after firetruck collision

On Sept. 2, 2021, motorcyclist Robert Danbom was traveling north on Vermont Avenue in East Hollywood when a Los Angeles firetruck entered the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vermont without halting, striking his bike and crushing his leg. The collision forced a below-the-knee amputation and other injuries, and Danbom sued the city for reckless driving. A Los Angeles jury on Aug. 13 awarded him $28 million, a record verdict for a below-the-knee amputation in California.

Attorney Filippo Marchino of X-Law Group argued the city could have settled for half that amount and criticized the city attorney’s office for failing to engage. Video evidence showed the firetruck failing to stop, contradicting the operator’s claim that he slowed and checked for traffic. The fire department and city attorney’s office did not respond to requests for comment. The case adds to a series of large municipal payouts that city attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto says are driven by increasingly hostile juries.