Jury Awards $5.77 Million to Metro Bus Passenger Struck After Driver Stopped a Lane From the Curb

On the evening of August 9, 2020, Kevin McElrath was riding a Metro bus west on Florence Avenue in Los Angeles when he asked to get off at a designated stop. Instead of pulling to the curb, the driver, Robert Albertazzi, opened the rear doors while the bus sat a full lane of traffic away from the sidewalk. No one warned the passengers about the gap or the live traffic lane beside the door.

McElrath stepped down expecting pavement. A passing car struck him almost at once, and the crash shattered his knee, fractured his right ankle, and broke his front teeth. Emergency surgery followed: an open reduction and internal fixation of the tibial plateau fracture, repair of the lateral meniscus, and fixation of the ankle. His doctors said the damage would not stop there. They projected a future total knee replacement, more ankle surgery, screw removals, root canals, and dental crowns.

McElrath sued LACMTA and Albertazzi in Los Angeles County Superior Court, represented by Omega Law Group's Lourdes De Armas and Ashley Laiken. The case (number 21STCV33539) went to trial before the Hon. Ian C. Fusselman. The defense did not dispute that he was hurt, but it fought over the cost of his future care. Its orthopedic expert, Dr. Arthur Kreitenberg, testified that McElrath would not need a knee replacement and could manage with over-the-counter medication and stretching, while a defense billing expert valued his past care at roughly $103,000.

Omega's team kept the jury on the driver's choice to release passengers a full lane from the curb, into moving traffic, with no warning. On the medicine, the plaintiff's orthopedic surgeon, Eric S. Millstein, and the treating physicians testified that a total knee replacement was coming, with further replacements roughly every 15 years given McElrath's age. Counsel asked the jury for $8,603,668. LACMTA urged no more than $380,000, and only if it was found liable.

The jury deliberated about a day and a half. On January 30, 2025, it found the defendants negligent by a 12-0 vote and assigned McElrath zero percent of the fault. The award came to $5,771,068.50: $1,750,000 for past pain and suffering, $2,500,000 for future pain and suffering, and $1,521,068.50 in economic damages for past and future medical care.

Because the jurors placed no comparative fault on McElrath, there was nothing to offset, and there is no reported reduction or remittitur. Jury Verdict Alert, an independent verdict reporter, lists the judgment as satisfied, which means LACMTA has paid the full $5,771,068.50.