The city of Los Angeles has to pay nearly $ 50 million to a man who has been in a coma since he was struck by a sanitation truck while crossing a street in Encino, decided on Thursday.
Kamran Hakimi, now 61, was in a pedestrian crossing on Hayvenhurst avenue and Boulevard Ventura last August when the sanitation truck struck him. Hakimi had a green light and the driver made a “dangerous right tour”, according to Hakimi lawyers.
A handlebar at the front of the truck struck Hakimi’s head and threw him towards asphalt, where he hit her head, said lawyers. Hakimi rose briefly and flashes a boost before losing consciousness.
“Mr. Hakimi’s life and his family ‘life are changed forever due to the negligence of an employee of the city of Los Angeles,” said Rahul Ravipudi, one of the lawyers in Hakimi. “This verdict supports the dignity of life that Mr. Hakimi appreciated before this tragedy, and we are grateful to the jury which carefully examined all the proofs and provided Mr. Hakimi with the means necessary to obtain the higher level of care which he needs so desperately.”
Hakimi is the father of five and worked in real estate before the accident. In October, his lawyers filed a complaint against the city of the High Court of the County of Los Angeles.
The city acknowledged that the driver had not sold, according to Hakimi lawyers. But at the trial, the city “challenged the damage suffered by Mr. Hakimi, arguing that his life expectancy was limited and that the value of its non-economic damages, in particular pain and suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life, was minimized because it was in a comatose state,” said the lawyers of Hakimi.
The jury ordered the city to pay Hakimi 48.8 million dollars, including $ 25 million for pain and future pain and $ 10 million for medical expenses.
The verdict, which comes while the city continues to fight with Climbing of legal liability paymentswas larger than any single payment by the city in the last two years, according to data provided by the city prosecutor’s office. The city can always appeal.
Another Hakimi lawyer, Brian Panish, said that the case should never have been tried, blaming City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto for refusing to settle outside the courtyard.
“The city’s prosecutor has chosen to force this case to be judged, rejected all reasonable settlement proposals,” Panish said. “There have been many reasonable proposals made by an independent mediator chosen by the city.”
Feldstein Soto, through his press office, did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Panish echoed Arguments put forward by the complainants Who said that Feldstein Soto’s legal strategies have contributed to the increase in legal responsibility costs. They say that Feldstein Soto has judged business that she should have settled, causing greater verdicts if the city is deemed responsible.
The city paid a total of 289 million dollars, its highest costs of responsibility, during the year 2025.
