Town of Los Angeles should pay practically $50 million to a person who has been in a coma since he was hit by a sanitation truck whereas crossing a avenue in Encino, a jury determined Thursday.
Kamran Hakimi, now 61, was in a crosswalk at Hayvenhurst Avenue and Ventura Boulevard final August when the sanitation truck struck him. Hakimi had a inexperienced mild, and the driving force made an “unsafe proper flip,” in keeping with Hakimi’s attorneys.
A handlebar on the entrance of the truck hit Hakimi’s head and flung him to the asphalt, the place he hit his head, the attorneys stated. Hakimi briefly stood and flashed a thumbs up earlier than dropping consciousness.
“Mr. Hakimi’s life, and the lives of his household, are without end modified as a result of negligence of a Metropolis of Los Angeles worker,” stated Rahul Ravipudi, one in all Hakimi’s attorneys. “This verdict upholds the dignity of the life Mr. Hakimi loved earlier than this tragedy and we’re grateful to the jury who rigorously thought of all of the proof and supplied Mr. Hakimi with the means essential to get the upper degree of care he so desperately wants.”
Hakimi is a father of 5 and labored in actual property earlier than the crash. In October, his attorneys filed a lawsuit towards town in Los Angeles Superior Court docket.
Town admitted that the driving force did not yield to Hakimi, in keeping with Hakimi’s attorneys. However at trial, town “disputed the damages suffered by Mr. Hakimi, arguing that his life expectancy was restricted and that the worth of his non-economic damages, together with ache and struggling, emotional misery, and lack of enjoyment of life, was minimized as a result of he was in a comatose state,” Hakimi’s attorneys stated.
The jury ordered town to pay Hakimi $48.8 million, together with $25 million for future ache and struggling and $10 million for future medical bills.
The decision, which comes as town continues to wrestle with escalating authorized legal responsibility payouts, was bigger than any single payout by town within the final two fiscal years, in keeping with information supplied by the Metropolis Legal professional’s Workplace. Town can nonetheless attraction.
One other Hakimi lawyer, Brian Panish, stated the case by no means ought to have gone to trial, blaming Metropolis Legal professional Hydee Feldstein Soto for refusing to settle the case.
“Town lawyer selected to drive this case to trial, rejected all cheap settlement proposals … There have been many cheap proposals made by an unbiased mediator chosen by town,” Panish stated.
Feldstein Soto, via her press workplace, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Panish echoed arguments made by plaintiffs’ attorneys who’ve stated that Feldstein Soto’s authorized methods have contributed to rising authorized legal responsibility prices. They declare that Feldstein Soto has taken instances to trial that she ought to have settled, leading to greater verdicts if town is discovered liable.
Town paid out a complete of $289 million, its highest legal responsibility prices ever, within the fiscal yr 2025.
