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Caltrans ordered to pay ex-UCLA player $35M in crash lawsuit

Former UCLA football player Nick Ekbatani, seen here in 2008.
(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)
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A jury has ordered Caltrans to pay $35 million to a former UCLA football player who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident that he said was caused because of a dangerous intersection.

KABC-TV reports Nick Ekbatani sued the agency for $50 million, arguing it knew the Redondo Beach cross streets were unsafe and did nothing to address the issue.

After a six-week trial, a Los Angeles jury on Monday sided with Ekbatani, now 29.

He was a starting offensive lineman for UCLA from 2006 to 2009. In July 2012, he was riding his motorcycle on Pacific Coast Highway when a cab driver turned left into him at the intersection.

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Ekbatani underwent 13 surgeries and lost his leg.

Caltrans didn’t immediately comment on the award or say whether it planned to appeal.

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