A Los Angeles jury awarded $28 million to a motorcyclist who lost his leg after an LAFD firetruck ran a red light and struck him in East Hollywood, adding to the city's ballooning legal tab for reckless driving by its employees.

Robert Danbom was riding his Harley-Davidson northbound on Vermont Avenue on Sept. 2, 2021, when a 65,000-pound firetruck traveling west entered the intersection at Sunset Boulevard without stopping. Danbom had the green light. His motorcycle went flying as he fell under the truck's wheels, dislocating his shoulder and disfiguring his leg, which was later amputated below the knee.

The jury returned its verdict on Aug. 13, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Video from the scene showed the firetruck moving through the intersection without stopping. The city's own driver manual for firefighters, presented to the jury, states that "the first apparatus in a convoy shall stop at all red lights and stop signs."

LAFD Apparatus Operator Vincent Leong told investigators at the scene that he slowed down and "started creeping forward" but did not see anyone approaching. The transcript of that interview was introduced as evidence at trial.

Danbom's attorney, Filippo Marchino of the X-Law Group, said the $28 million payout is believed to be the largest verdict in California stemming from a below-the-knee amputation. He said the city attorney's office did not engage in settlement talks, and that he would have accepted roughly $14 million to resolve the case.

"These people don't realize it's not their money, it's the city's money, it's the taxpayers' money," Marchino said. "It's offensive because cases like ours could have been settled for significantly less than what the verdict is."

Neither the LAFD nor the city attorney's office responded to the Times' requests for comment on the verdict.

The verdict lands as the city's annual payouts for settlements and jury verdicts have surged. According to the Times, the city paid $289 million in 2025, up from $64 million about a decade ago.

The Danbom case follows a pattern. In 2025, a separate jury awarded nearly $49 million to a man left in a coma after being hit by a city garbage truck driver accused of making an unsafe right turn. In 2024, a motorcyclist received $11 million after being struck by a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power driver.

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, who failed to advance out of the June 2026 primary, has argued that rising costs reflect juries growing more antagonistic toward local government. Plaintiffs' attorneys counter that her office brought too many cases with weak defenses to trial. Marissa Roy and Los Angeles County prosecutor John McKinney are competing for the seat in the November election.

Whether the city plans to appeal the Danbom verdict has not been announced. Residents who witness unsafe driving by city vehicles can file complaints through LA's 311 system or online at lacity.gov/311.