A Los Angeles County jury has ordered $22 million in punitive damages to be paid to the family of two young brothers who died in a September 2020 pedestrian collision in Westlake Village. The decision follows an earlier award of $176 million in compensatory damages.
The fatal incident occurred on September 29, 2020, when Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, 8, were struck while crossing a marked crosswalk in a residential area of Westlake Village, an affluent community in western Los Angeles County. The brothers were walking with their parents and two younger siblings at the time of the collision.
Rebecca Grossman, 62, who is married to plastic surgeon Peter Grossman, was convicted in 2024 on two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. She is currently serving a sentence of 15 years to life. A California appeals court upheld these convictions in March.
The jury allocated $21 million of the punitive damages against Rebecca Grossman and $1.17 million against Scott Erickson, 58, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who won a World Series with the Minnesota Twins. Both were found to have acted negligently and with malice in connection with the deaths.
According to testimony presented during the trial, Grossman and Erickson had been drinking margaritas at a Westlake Village restaurant before the incident. Witnesses stated the two were driving separate Mercedes SUVs at high speeds through the residential neighborhood. Nancy Iskander, the boys’ mother, testified that the vehicles approached the crosswalk at what she described as “crazy” speeds and appeared to be changing lanes as if engaged in a game.
Nancy Iskander managed to grab one of her younger children and jump clear of Erickson’s black SUV, but Grossman’s white SUV struck Mark and Jacob. Despite the vehicle’s airbags deploying, Grossman did not stop immediately after the collision. Her SUV came to a halt approximately one-third of a mile from the crosswalk.
Erickson avoided criminal prosecution by agreeing to film a public service announcement about safe driving.
During the civil trial, attorney Brian Panish, representing the Iskander family, presented evidence of recorded prison phone calls between Rebecca and Peter Grossman discussing financial matters. The conversations included discussions about protecting assets and references to the family’s attorney as an “ambulance chaser.” Panish also highlighted property transfers involving the couple’s 14,000-square-foot mansion, which he characterized as attempts to shield assets.
The defense argued that the incident was an accident with tragic consequences rather than an intentional act. Rebecca Grossman’s attorney, Esther Holm, told jurors that the substantial compensatory damages already awarded had sent a clear message and that additional punitive damages were not necessary.
Erickson’s attorney, Deborah Tropp-Thompson, requested minimal punitive damages, citing her client’s financial situation and arguing that the compensatory damages verdict had already made its point.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Huey P. Cotton Jr. presided over the trial. When polled after the verdict, all but one juror confirmed their agreement with the decision.
Peter Grossman serves as medical director of the Grossman Burn Center and founded Grossman Plastic Surgery in West Hills, California. He maintains contracts with hospitals and burn centers both within and outside California.
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