Mardirossian Akaragian LLP

Mardirossian Akaragian LLP We specialize in many facets of personal injury, including motor vehicle crashes, product failures, Attorneys Office Legal Services.

08/01/2026

"It was severed at the seams. I don't have much recollection of it, but I remember waking up in a hospital bed and being told that my leg had been amputated."
— Amir Ekbatani

Amir Ekbatani was an offensive lineman for the UCLA Bruins. On July 14, 2012, a taxi driver failed to yield at the PCH and Diamond St intersection in Redondo Beach and collided with his motorcycle. Amir was thrown from his motorcycle. Despite numerous surgeries, his leg had to be amputated.

His first attorney wanted to settle for $1 million — the driver's policy limit.

Garo Mardirossian looked deeper. The intersection was notoriously dangerous and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) knew. Their engineers had driven through it hundreds of times, noticed the problem, and never fixed it.

The jury awarded $35 million. Caltrans was found 70% liable.

Within six months, Caltrans installed the safety measures that should have been there for years.

Today, Amir is an Apple Fitness+ trainer, adaptive athlete, and motivational speaker.

"Nick plans to do more with one leg than he ever could have done with two."
— Swim With Mike

07/18/2026

The city didn't pay $4.9 million because the officers did nothing wrong

-

In January 2014, a jury acquitted the two officers who stood trial for the killing of Kelly Thomas. His father, Ron, had one avenue left: the civil courts.

On July 5, 2011, six Fullerton police officers restrained and repeatedly struck Kelly — 37 years old, unarmed — for nearly ten minutes.

Witnesses heard him screaming and crying out for his father. He died five days later. The officers' reports described a combative suspect with extraordinary strength. The medical evidence described a crushed thorax, a shattered face, and blood in his lungs.

Over four years of civil litigation, our firm uncovered what the criminal jury was never allowed to hear: officers had viewed department surveillance footage before writing their reports, electronic audit logs showed those reports were revised multiple times, and a confidential witness described how people inside the department watched Kelly's brutal beating live, and did absolutely nothing.

Hours before opening statements in the civil trial could begin, the City of Fullerton settled for $4.9 million.

This 6-minute hand-drawn film tells the story of the beating, the cover-up, and the litigation that put the truth on the public record.

For deeper case details, visit https://www.garolaw.com/the-kelly-thomas-conspiracy/.

07/08/2026

The settlement locked in one condition: the officers fired for violating policy could never be rehired by the Fullerton Police Department.

Kelly Thomas was thirty-seven years old. Unarmed. He didn't get the criminal justice he deserved. But through civil discovery, his story became part of the public record.

For Kelly Thomas — and for the record.

Episode 9 out now.

Full series at garolaw.com/the-kelly-thomas-conspiracy

Send this to someone who needs to know this story.

07/07/2026

Four years after Kelly Thomas's death, the officers were finally going to have to answer for it under oath.

For the first time, they couldn't hide behind their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The medical evidence, the pattern of misconduct, the cover-up — all of it was going to be heard by a jury.

Then, at eleven a.m. on the very morning opening statements were set to begin, a settlement was reached.

$4.9 million paid. But without admitting fault.

The Kelly Thomas Conspiracy — Episode 8 out now.

Full series at garolaw.com/the-kelly-thomas-conspiracy

Send this to someone who needs to know this story.

07/04/2026

An informant came forward. But a tip isn't proof.

The attorneys went looking for evidence — and found it in the Fullerton Police Department's own files.

Digital logs documented every time the officers' reports were rewritten. Multiple revisions. All recorded.

The conspiracy was uncovered.

The Kelly Thomas Conspiracy — Episode 7 out now.

Full series at garolaw.com/the-kelly-thomas-conspiracy

Send this to someone who needs to know this story.

07/02/2026

On July 5th, 2011, Kelly Thomas was savagely beaten by 6 Fullerton police officers. He was homeless at the time, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and was unarmed.

He was beaten for 9 minutes and 40 seconds, including being tasered 6 times, all the while repeatedly crying out for his father and apologizing profusely.

Not only were the officers involved in the beating permitted to view the footage before writing their reports, but it was revealed by an informant that those reports were subsequently rewritten multiple times before being submitted. In fact, one of those six officers had a track record of falsifying reports, having done so a year prior with another one of Garo’s clients, Veth Mam.

Ultimately, the case was settled outside of court. Speaking at a press conference at the Mardirossian Akaragian law office, Ron Thomas, Kelly’s Father, said:

“Considering this would have gone to appeals afterward if a verdict was reached by a jury, the years it would have prolonged, what would we have gained? We still know they did it.”

06/25/2026

The six officers who beat Kelly Thomas were allowed to watch the CCTV footage of the beating before writing their reports.

All six. In the same room. Together.

Fullerton's own interim police chief confirmed it was standard procedure.

The attorneys saw it differently.

And then an informant called the firm.

Episode 6 out now.

Full series at garolaw.com/the-kelly-thomas-conspiracy

Send this to someone who needs to know this story.

06/22/2026

"Although the city would like to say it's not admitting liability, the reality is when you're paying $4.9 million… The act of having agreed to pay that large amount is a tacit admission."
— Garo Mardirossian

Kelly Thomas was beaten by 6 police officers and died 5 days later.

In an attempt to settle out of court, the city made his family an offer of $900,000.

Their justification? "Let's face it, Ron," they said to Kelly's grieving father. "Kelly was no rocket scientist."

That was when Mardirossian Akaragian LLP stepped in.
The city ended up paying $4.9 million.

The story doesn't end here. Episode 5 drops Wednesday.

06/18/2026

The attorneys had the medical evidence. Now they needed to know if Kelly Thomas was a one-time incident — or part of a pattern.

One officer at the scene was already on a performance improvement plan.
Another had previously filed a false report against a bystander filming police. That man, like Kelly, was cast as the aggressor.

This wasn't an isolated incident.

The Kelly Thomas Conspiracy — Episode 5 out now.

Full series at garolaw.com/the-kelly-thomas-conspiracy

Send this to someone who needs to know this story.

06/15/2026

When paramedics arrived at the scene, the officers insisted the medical staff attend to their own injuries FIRST.

"Nobody at all from law enforcement directed them to Kelly. Kelly is dying in the gutter."
— Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father

Officer Manuel Ramos told investigators he had been in "the fight of his life."

His injury received a bandaid.
Officer Jay Cicinelli suffered a thumb injury.

It was a full minute before one of the paramedics noticed Kelly Thomas lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood. There was so much blood on Kelly’s chest that the EKG had to be applied to his back.

Halfway to the hospital, his heart stopped.
He never regained consciousness. He died five days later.
Only 2 of the 6 officers were ever charged.

The jury acquitted them both. They walked free.

The story doesn't end here. Episode 5 drops on Wednesday.

Address

6311 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA
90048

Telephone

+13236536311

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mardirossian Akaragian LLP posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Mardirossian Akaragian LLP:

Shortcuts

Share

Category