Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP Obtains an $11 Million Jury Verdict for a Motorcyclist Struck by a City of Los Angeles DWP Vehicle

VAN NUYS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury in Van Nuys has awarded $11,045,000 to a motorcyclist who suffered serious injuries following a collision with a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) vehicle. Plaintiff was represented at trial by Robert Glassman, Tom Schultz, and Jonathan Davidi of Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP. Co-counsel Nina Sargsyan of Downtown L.A. Law Group also represented the Plaintiff in the case. The verdict was delivered on Friday, March 22, 2024.

"The City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power fought us every step of the way," said Robert Glassman, partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP. "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."

On the morning of April 12, 2019, Plaintiff Grady Dillon was riding his motorcycle in downtown Los Angeles when a DWP employee, Manuel Medina, driving a department-owned van, made an unsafe, left hand turn directly into Mr. Dillon's path of travel. Unable to avoid the DWP vehicle, Mr. Dillon collided with the van resulting in serious and extensive injuries including numerous fractures to his pelvis, ribs, left wrist and right foot, as well as a lacerated spleen. Mr. Dillon was hospitalized for 12 days and underwent two major surgeries on his pelvis and wrist. He later transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility where he remained for nearly four months. In the years that followed, Mr. Dillon underwent three more surgical interventions for his injuries including a lumbar fusion and a wrist osteotomy. Only 38 years old at the time of the crash, Mr. Dillon faces a lifetime of ongoing pain and physical limitations as a result of the collision.

Despite a video clearly showing that Mr. Medina was at fault for the collision and Mr. Medina's own testimony during his deposition that he did not look left before turning, the DWP denied all liability for the collision at trial, claiming that Mr. Dillon was at fault because he was driving his motorcycle 59 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour speed zone.

The jury disagreed and found Mr. Medina and the DWP 100 percent at fault for the collision, and awarded Mr. Dillon $11,045,000, including $9,500,000 for his past and future pain and suffering.

The City of Los Angeles was represented at trial by Seymour B. Everett III and Silvia Schaffer of Everett Dorey LLP and represented in the case by Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, Deputy City Attorney Joseph Graven, and General Counsel for Water and Power, Julie C. Riley.

Dillon v. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles
Case No. 19STCV14977
Hon. Graciela Freixes

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Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP is a nationally recognized law firm representing plaintiffs in wrongful death, catastrophic injury, sexual abuse/assault, product liability, mass torts, and business litigation cases. With offices in California and Nevada, firm attorneys have dedicated themselves to obtaining justice for clients who are often dealing with a life-altering injury, death of a family member, or other challenges caused by the wrongful act of another together. With this mission at the heart of its work, the firm has obtained some of the most significant verdicts and settlements for plaintiffs in United States history. Learn more about Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP and our work on behalf of our clients at panish.law.