Los Angeles has witnessed a multimillion-dollar verdict settling in favor of Grady Dillon, a motorcyclist who endured devastating injuries in a 2019 collision with a Department of Water and Power vehicle. The intense legal battle culminated Friday, March 25, with more than $11 million awarded to Dillon for damages and suffering incurred after the downtown L.A. accident.
Dillon's victory arrives after a jury found the DWP employee, Manuel Medina, responsible for making an unsafe left turn, as reported by Daily News. The crash resulted in fractures to Dillon's pelvis, ribs, wrist, and foot, a lacerated spleen, and multiple surgeries, including a lumbar fusion. Dillon, now living with lifelong pain and limitations, was hospitalized for a considerable duration and underwent rehabilitation for nearly four months after the incident.
"The city of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power fought us every step of the way," Dillon's attorney, Robert Glassman, elucidated in a statement obtained by KTLA. He denounced the department's attempt to have the jury find Dillon entirely at fault and expressed gratitude towards the jury's just verdict, emphasizing their reliance on evidence and common sense.
While DWP's defense hinged on the claim that Dillon had been speeding, supposedly traveling at 59 mph in a 35 mph zone, footage and testimony challenged their narrative. Despite the City Attorney's Office suggesting Dillon assumed the risk, with Medina admitting in a deposition to not checking left before turning, the DWP was held completely accountable. Dillon's legal team was steadfast in their argument, and the jury ultimately sided with their presentation of the facts, according to the disclosure by Daily News.
The final decision rendered by the jury in Van Nuys Superior Court was a figure of $11,045,000, dedicating $9.5 million to Dillon's past and future pain and suffering. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has yet to respond publicly to the verdict or to share whether an appeal is on the horizon. Meanwhile, Grady Dillon and his legal team celebrate a significant win in a city where traffic collisions often become grist for the courts.
