The Iskander family has sued Rebecca Grossman and former MLB pitcher Scott Erickson for their roles in the 2020 crash that killed 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob.
LOS ANGELES (CN) – Wrongful-death claims stemming from a 2020 hit-and-run crash that killed two young brothers in the San Fernando Valley are now in the hands of a jury, after attorneys made closing arguments in a civil trial Monday.
Plaintiff’s attorney Brian Panish asked 12 jurors to award about $375 million to his clients, the Iskander family, for the losses of 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his 8-year-old brother Jacob, who were killed while crossing the street with their mother, Nancy, and younger brother, Zachary.
“Is this a lot of money?” Panish asked. “Yes. But it’s a tremendous loss … What could be worse for a parent than seeing your children run over by a drunk driver?”
Rebecca Grossman, the wife of renowned plastic surgeon Peter Grossman, is currently serving 15 years to life in prison after a jury found her guilty. guilty two counts of second-degree murder for hitting the boys. The civil trial covered similar territory, but with an additional defendant: Scott Erickson, a former professional baseball player who was dating Grossman at the time. The two had been drinking margaritas at a Mexican restaurant and were driving to her home in Westlake Village in separate cars. Multiple witnesses said the two were driving extremely fast, weaving between lanes and appearing to be racing each other. Erickson’s car careened through the intersection, narrowly missing Nancy and Zachary, who ran off the road. Erickson avoided criminal charges by agreeing to film a public service announcement about safe driving.
Panish pulled no punches when he killed the two main defendants, who he said were “entitled, they think they can do whatever they want.”
“She has never accepted any responsibility, and neither has Erickson,” Panish said. It’s up to you to hold them accountable.
During a long day on the witness stand, Panish grilled Erickson about his relationship with Grossman, the night of the crash and his actions afterward. The former pitcher denied any responsibility for the deaths of Mark and Jacob, denied racing Grossman and denied going over 50 miles per hour. He was forced to admit he had lied to police about the car he had been driving – he owned two black Mercedes SUVs but was in the habit of swapping a license plate between them.
“He is an admitted pathological liar, repeat liar, suppressor of evidence,” Panish said of Erickson. “Who drives around with fake license plates? Criminals.” He later added: “If you believe it, I won’t be a lawyer anymore.”
“My client made some stupid, stupid decisions in this case,” Erickson’s attorney Jeff Braun admitted in his closing argument. “My client lied to the police. He lied to his lawyers in this case. And that’s a tough, tough hole to dig out of.” But he emphasized that Erickson did not hit the two boys and argued that there was little evidence to prove that he had been in the race.
Braun suggested the jury award the Iskanders $10 million, an amount that, he said, would “give them the opportunity to do things to move their lives forward.”
Grossman’s attorney, Esther Holm, tried to blame the city of Westlake Village for the crash for maintaining what he said was a dangerous crosswalk.
“The city has known about this dangerous condition for years,” she said. “People were having near-miss incidents.”
During his counter-argument, Panish shook his head in disbelief and said, “They don’t understand. They don’t accept one iota of responsibility.”
If the jury finds Grossman or Erickson, or both, negligent in the accident and finds that their negligence was a substantial factor in causing the deaths of Mark and Jacob, then they will be faced with the nearly impossible task of assigning a dollar value to the family’s loss, including the loss of love, comfort and affection in the past, as in the past. They can also choose to compensate Nancy and Zachary for causing emotional distress.
The jury will also have the option of awarding damages to punish Erickson and Grossman, but that will be done after a separate phase of the trial.
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