Jury slaps millions more in punitive damages for LA socialite Rebecca Grossman

LA socialite Rebecca Grossman has been slapped with another $21 million in punitive damages after the 2020 crash that killed two boys.

It brings the total amount from her and ex-Dodger Scott Erickson to $198 million after jurors awarded the victims’ family with $176 million in compensatory damages last week.

Erickson was found negligent for the boys’ deaths in the same civil trial.

Grossman was convicted in her 2024 criminal trial of striking and killing 11-year-old Mark Iskander and his eight-year-old brother Jacob with her speeding Mercedes SUV. She was sentenced to 15 years to life.

The crash shocked the wealthy community of Westlake Village, and both the criminal and wrongful death trials revealed the secret life of a rich plastic surgeon’s wife and her Major League Baseball star lover.

Grossman, who was known for her philanthropy, was married to Dr. Peter Grossman, director of the prestigious Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, California. 

On September 29, 2020, Grossman and Erickson were photographed enjoying margaritas at a Westlake Village restaurant. The love birds then moved on to a friend’s house.

Just after 7 p.m., the Iskander boys were crossing Triunfo Canyon Road with their mother, Nancy, and younger brother when witnesses saw cars racing toward them. 

Erickson, behind the wheel of a black SUV, reached the crosswalk first. Moments later, Grossman plowed through in her white Mercedes, striking and killing the children.  

Mark Iskander died at the scene, while Jacob died at the hospital a few hours later. 

A blood sample taken three hours after the crash registered 0.08%, showing Grossman was illegally over the limit, according to testimony. 

During the criminal trial, Grossman often arrived arm in arm with her plastic surgeon husband.

At one point, Grossman’s daughter testified, exposing odd details about Erickson’s behavior on the night of the crash.

Alexis Grossman, 19, said that she spotted Erickson lurking in the shadows as police questioned her mother, Rebecca, after the former lovers’ street race turned tragic.

Erickson took the stand in the wrongful death trial, where he admitted deleting messages between him and Grossman after the accident and also confessed that he didn’t come forward to authorities about his involvement until police contacted him a week after the crash. 

Grossman was found guilty in February 2024. During the dramatic verdict reading, Nancy Isklander burst into tears as the 62-year-old socialite was handcuffed following the judge’s refusal to extend her $2 million bail until sentencing, saying, “Justice can no longer be delayed.”

“This trial, every day in court felt like I am attending the funeral of the boys again, day after day,” Iskander told reporters after the verdict.

“Someone is now held accountable. Mark and Jacob did not die. Mark and Jacob were murdered.”

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