A woman who lost her leg when she dashed in front of a Beaverton MAX train is lawfully entitled to only $682,800 of the $15 million in damages awarded by jury, a judge ruled.

Andrea “Amy” Laing and her attorneys contended that she should receive 58 percent of the verdict, or $8.7 million, because the jury in February found TriMet and its driver 58 percent at fault for the accident.

But TriMet argued that an Oregon law limiting the tort claim liability of government agencies entitled Laing to no more than $682,800.

On Monday, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras agreed with TriMet.

TriMet declined comment about the ruling, which Laing could appeal.

Attorney Sonia Montalbano, who represents Laing with Randolph Pickett, said Tuesday they haven’t yet decided whether to appeal.

The $682,800 apparently isn’t enough to cover Laing’s medical bills, which so far have amounted to about $800,000, according to court papers filed by her attorneys before the start of the 10-day trial.

Laing and her lawyers faulted the MAX operator for not braking sooner and not sounding the horn earlier as the train approached the Elmonica/Southwest 170th Avenue station on Nov. 16, 2015. They also faulted TriMet for failing to act on years-old recommendations from a consultant on how to make pedestrian crossings safer.

“For 14 years TriMet was aware of the significant risk of pedestrians being struck by oncoming trains, but did nothing to prevent it until after Ms. Laing was hit,” said Montalbano, one of Laing’s lawyers. “This case demonstrates why limiting recovery available to seriously injured parties can lead to a lack of accountability on the part of public agencies.”

TriMet faulted Laing for failing to heed warning signs or features that were designed to get pedestrians to “Stop, look and listen.” Laing testified that she didn’t pay attention to a “Look Both Ways” sign and a white bumpy strip on the ground because she’d become “habitualized” to them as a regular commuter.

TriMet’s attorney, Michael Shin, also said Laing was wearing a hoodie and earbuds playing loud music. Laing’s attorneys argued it couldn’t be determined what volume the music was playing at at the time of impact.

Several jurors who spoke to The Oregonian/OregonLive after the verdict said they didn’t fault Laing for wearing a hoodie. They said because the hood was large, they didn’t have evidence that it blocked her field of vision.

Jurors found Laing 42 percent at fault, TriMet 43 percent at fault and the MAX operator 15 percent at fault. They said TriMet could have installed safety features that might have prevented the accident. Among those features was a “swing gate” that would force pedestrians to stop and possibly look both ways before opening the gate and stepping onto the tracks.

12 Surveillance video shows the seconds before MAX train strikes woman

Just before the accident, Laing had been walking toward the MAX station at 9:12 a.m. when she saw that the westbound train -- the one she wanted to ride to work -- had pulled into the station, according to testimony and surveillance video played at trial. Laing began to run. An instant before getting hit by the eastbound train, she looks as though she sees it and tries to slow down. But she couldn’t in time and was hit by the corner of the approaching train.

Laing was run over by the train and suffered an above-the-knee amputation, broken ribs, fractures to her facial bones and many internal injuries, including damage to her spleen that required its removal.

After The Oregonian/OregonLive requested a copy of the surveillance video, Laing fought its public release, arguing that it would amount to an unreasonable invasion of privacy. Ramras, the judge, ultimately disagreed and allowed its release earlier this month.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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