A motorcyclist who lost his leg after he was crushed by a firetruck in Los Angeles was awarded an astonishing $28 million.
Robert Danbom was headed through an intersection in East Hollywood on September 2, 2021, when firefighters in a 65,000-pound truck were traveling across it.
Sitting on his 2005 Harley Roadster, Danbom was proceeding through a green light when, according to his lawsuit, he had just moments to react before the devastating crash, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The bike flew into the air while he was crushed beneath the truck’s wheels.
According to the outlet, he dislocated his shoulder, and his leg was so badly damaged that it later had to be amputated below the knee.
The lawsuit claimed that the first responders failed to stop and check for cross traffic.
‘LAFD’s massive fire tender failed to follow basic safety standards by failing to stop, or even slow, the massive vehicle before entering a very busy intersection,’ the lawsuit alleged.
At the time of the crash, the firetruck was en route to Kaiser Permanente in response to a call that was later determined to be a false alarm.
Sitting on his 2005 Harley Roadster, Danbom was proceeding through a green light when, according to his lawsuit, he had just moments to react before the devastating crash
Robert Danbom won $28 million after he was crushed by a firetruck while headed through an intersection in East Hollywood on September 2, 2021. The accident left this leg so disfigured it needed to be amputated from the knee down
Filippo Marchino, Danbom’s attorney, said he believed the $28 million payout was the largest ever awarded in a case involving a below-the-knee amputation.
However, Marchino criticized the city attorney’s office and claimed his client would have been satisfied with half that amount.
‘But there was zero engagement with the city attorney’s office,’ the attorney told the outlet.
‘These people don’t realize it’s not their money, it’s the city’s money, it’s the taxpayers’ money. It’s offensive because cases like ours could have been settled for significantly less than what the verdict is.’
Footage uploaded to YouTube by Marchino appeared to have been captured by a surveillance camera on the day of the accident.
The video appeared to show the firetruck entering the intersection without stopping moments before Danbom was seen sliding beneath the vehicle.
LAFD Apparatus Operator Vincent Leong claimed the truck stopped at the intersection and made sure it was clear before proceeding, according to a transcript of an interview from the scene cited by the outlet.
Filippo Marchino, Danbom’s attorney, said that the defendants maintained that they stopped before entering the intersection (Stock Image)
LAFD Apparatus Operator Vincent Leong claimed the truck stopped at the intersection and made sure it was clear before proceeding, according to a transcript of an interview from the scene cited by the Los Angeles Times (Stock Image)
‘This is a blind intersection, you know, so I slowed down,’ he said, according to the transcript, which was later presented as evidence in court.
‘I started creeping forward. … I didn’t see anybody.’
Marchino told the outlet that the defendants maintained that position throughout the trial.
‘If you sat through our trial, you’d be like, ‘These guys are high,’ Marchino said. ‘They kept saying, ‘They stopped,’ and we had video showing they didn’t stop.’
Los Angeles settlement and jury-verdict payouts have spiked by more than 350 percent over the past decade, rising from nearly $64 million to $289 million last year, according to the outlet.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department for comment.
