$11 Million Verdict for Motorcyclist Struck by LADWP Van
Won by Downtown LA Law Group.
A Van Nuys jury awarded $11 million to motorcyclist Grady Dillon after a Los Angeles DWP driver made an unsafe left turn into his path, and the California Court of Appeal affirmed the full verdict in 2026.
What happened
On April 12, 2019, Grady Dillon was riding his motorcycle through downtown Los Angeles when a city Department of Water and Power van made a left turn directly into his path. The DWP driver, Manuel Medina, had no time to warn him. Dillon could not stop. He collided with the van at speed.
The impact fractured Dillon's pelvis, ribs, left wrist, and right foot and lacerated his spleen. He spent 12 days hospitalized and underwent two major surgeries immediately after the crash. Over the following years he required three additional procedures, including a lumbar fusion and a wrist osteotomy, leaving him with permanent pain and physical limitations.
Dillon sued the City of Los Angeles through its DWP. Lead trial counsel came from Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, with Nina Sargsyan of Downtown LA Law Group serving as co-counsel. At trial, the team presented video evidence of the collision and played Medina's own deposition, in which he admitted he did not look left before turning. The city argued Dillon had been traveling 59 mph in a 35 mph zone, but the jury rejected that defense entirely and assigned 100 percent liability to Medina and the DWP.
On March 22, 2024, the Van Nuys jury returned a verdict of $11,045,000, including $9.5 million for past and future pain and suffering.
The city appealed. In July 2026, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, affirmed the judgment in full. The court found the city could not meet the burden needed to show that Dillon's speed was a substantial cause of the collision, describing that standard as 'almost impossible' for the defense to satisfy on the facts presented. The $11 million award stood without reduction.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.MyNewsLA: Motorcyclist Wins $11 Million in Suit Over Collision with DWP Van (Mar 25 2024)·Archived copy
- 2.Law360: Calif. Court OKs $11M Verdict In Motorcycle Crash Case (Jul 29 2026)
- 3.California Court of Appeal, 2d Dist.: Dillon v. City of Los Angeles, filed Jul 28 2026 (CourtListener)·Archived copy
- 4.Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP: verdict announcement naming Nina Sargsyan of Downtown LA Law Group as co-counsel·Archived copy
Related motorcycle accident verdicts
A Waterbury jury awarded Don Zemo IV $45 million after finding that a tow truck illegally parked outside MyHoopty.com's Oakville lot blocked the sightline for a car pulling out, causing a collision that left him permanently paralyzed.
A Pierce County jury awarded $44.7 million to an EMT and volunteer firefighter left with permanent injuries after an SUV driver turned left through an uncontrolled intersection and into his path, a verdict Washington courts later upheld in full.
Shannon Shaw was riding his motorcycle in St. George, South Carolina, in September 2021 when an Amazon delivery van turned left across his path. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and orthopedic injuries that led to a cervical fusion. In December 2023 a Dorchester County jury found Amazon vicariously liable and grossly negligent and returned $44.63 million, including $30 million in punitive damages against Amazon.
A Marion County jury in March 2024 awarded $60.7 million to motorcyclist Christopher Dugan after a Tesla service manager crossed double yellow lines and struck him, leaving him with a permanent traumatic brain injury and a partial foot amputation; comparative fault reduced the net award to $42.5 million.