Motorcyclist who lost leg when his Harley-Davidson flipped in the air as firetruck hit him wins staggering $28m payout
A motorcyclist in Los Angeles has been awarded $28 million after losing part of his leg when he was crushed beneath a fire engine at an intersection in East Hollywood. Robert Danbom was riding his 2005 Harley-Davidson Roadster through a green light on 2 September 2021 when a 65,000-pound fire truck, responding to what later proved to be a false alarm, entered the junction and struck him, throwing the bike into the air. His lawsuit alleged the crew failed to stop or check for cross traffic before proceeding into a busy intersection.
Danbom suffered a dislocated shoulder and such severe leg damage that it later had to be amputated below the knee. His lawyer, Filippo Marchino, said the verdict is believed to be the largest ever for a below-the-knee amputation case, though he criticised the city attorney's office for refusing to engage, claiming his client would have accepted roughly half the sum in settlement. Surveillance footage cited in court appeared to contradict the fire truck operator's claim that the vehicle had stopped before entering the junction. The case comes amid a sharp rise in Los Angeles settlement and jury payouts, which have grown more than 350% over the past decade, from around $64 million to $289 million last year.
- Motorcyclist awarded $28m after fire truck crash cost him his leg
- LA firefighters accused of failing to stop at intersection
- Lawyer says lawsuit payouts in LA have surged 350% in a decade
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Robert Danbom was riding his Harley-Davidson through a green light in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, in September 2021 when a fire engine responding to what turned out to be a false alarm drove into the junction and hit him. The collision threw him from his bike and left him with severe leg injuries that later required amputation below the knee, as well as a dislocated shoulder.
Danbom sued the city, arguing that the fire crew had failed to stop or check for other traffic before entering the intersection, a claim he says surveillance footage supports. The case is notable because it deals with the balance emergency vehicles must strike between responding quickly to calls and ensuring safety at road junctions, and because it forms part of a broader pattern of rapidly rising legal payouts against the city of Los Angeles in recent years.
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The case for
Supporters of the verdict would argue that Robert Danbom suffered a devastating, permanent injury through no fault of his own, having been riding through a green light when a 65,000-pound fire truck entered the junction, and that surveillance evidence undercut the crew's own account of events. They would say a jury, having heard all the evidence, is best placed to judge fair compensation for a lifetime of lost mobility, earnings and medical care, and that public agencies operating heavy emergency vehicles must be held to a high standard of care precisely because the consequences of error are so severe. They might also note that the city's refusal to engage in settlement talks, despite the plaintiff reportedly being willing to accept roughly half the sum, left it exposed to the full judgment a jury saw fit to award.
The case against
Others, without disputing that Danbom was badly wronged, would express unease about the scale of the award and what it means for the public purse, pointing out that Los Angeles's total settlement and verdict payouts have risen more than 350% over the past decade and are ultimately met by taxpayers. They would argue that juries, moved by sympathy and dramatic footage of a catastrophic injury, can award sums that outstrip the plaintiff's actual economic losses, and that such verdicts feed a broader trend of escalating litigation costs that strain civic budgets and divert money from other public services, even in cases where the underlying negligence is not seriously in question.