A woman who won a $15 million jury verdict after she dashed in front of a MAX train and was hit has lost her bid to keep TriMet surveillance video of the collision from public release.

Andrea “Amy” Laing argued that allowing the public to watch the video taken from a Beaverton MAX train platform amounted to an unreasonable invasion of her privacy.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras initially agreed but in a ruling Friday said he made a mistake.

Ramras wrote in the decision that Laing’s attorneys played the entire video for jurors in open court during the 10-day trial in February, the video was recorded in a public location and “any member of the public could have seen it if they had attended the trial.”

Ramras also noted that the Oregon Constitution states, “No court shall be secret, but justice shall be administered, openly.”

“(Laing) chose to bring the lawsuit and thus knowingly exposed herself to the public potentially viewing the Video,” Ramras wrote.

TriMet released the video Monday to The Oregonian/OregonLive, which had argued for it to be made public.

Laing had been wearing a hoodie -- and TriMet contended during trial, earbuds playing loud music -- when she was struck at the Elmonica/Southwest 170th station on Nov. 16, 2015. Laing argued that TriMet had failed to heed recommendations from years earlier on how to make the crossing safer for pedestrians and criticized the train operator for not braking sooner.

Laing has said she doesn’t remember being struck or if her earbuds were in her ears, but emergency responders found them by the tracks next to her and they were playing music.

12 Surveillance video shows the seconds before MAX train strikes woman

During trial, she and her attorneys contended TriMet was at fault for failing to install safety features that the transit agency had known about for years. Among those features was a “swing gate” that would force pedestrians to stop and possibly look both ways before opening the gate and stepping out onto the tracks.

Laing’s lawyers also criticized the train operator for not braking sooner and not sounding the horn earlier. An expert said the operator began to blast the horn 1.9 second before impact.

In February, the judge approved a protective order barring the public release of the video after hearing arguments only from Laing’s lawyers, Sonia Montalbano and Randolph Pickett. After hearing last month from a lawyer for The Oregonian/OregonLive, Ramras said he believes his original decision “was in error.”

Laing’s attorneys had argued that Laing didn’t want the video released because she, her friends and family already felt “extreme and ongoing distress” from public comments posted to stories about her initial filing of the lawsuit and then the jury’s verdict. They said Laing feared for her safety, in part because a stranger had approached her near her work and tried to talk to her about the case.

Laing’s attorneys also had asked the judge to order The Oregonian/OregonLive to take down still photographs it took of the video during the trial. Ramras didn’t address that request in his latest decision.

Laing’s lawyers had said allowing the public to see the video and photos benefits The Oregonian/OregonLive and what they surmised were the news organization’s motives: “garnering more clicks” from online readers.

But the news organization’s lawyer, Charles Hinkle, contended the video’s images increase the public’s understanding of how the accident happened and help foster discussion over an issue of significant public concern, after Laing sought millions of dollars in compensation from a public agency.

“Over 100,000 people use MAX every day and a great many more people cross MAX train (tracks),” Hinkle said during an April hearing. “... So there is interest in knowing how, why this accident occurred as it did.”

Ramras hasn’t yet ruled on another motion -- whether to reduce Laing’s jury award.

A 12-person jury found TriMet and its driver 58 percent at fault and Laing 42 percent responsible. Laing’s attorneys have said their client is due 58 percent of the $15 million verdict, which amounts to $8.7 million.

TriMet’s lawyers have said Laing is due $682,800, which they say is what Oregon law designates as the most Laing can receive because TriMet is a public agency. Oregon law limits damage awards in some personal injury cases.

The judge has said he plans to rule on that issue in the next two weeks.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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