A judge slashed an Oregon woman’s $15 million jury award in a personal injury case by more than 95 percent, according to The Oregonian. Citing an Oregon law capping the amount of damages in a tort case, the defendant successfully argued that the plaintiff was entitled to only a small fraction of the amount.

The Personal Injury Case

The accident occurred the morning of Nov. 16, 2015, at a commuter train station in Beaverton, Oregon. As the 23-year-old plaintiff, Andrea Laing, ran to catch a westbound train, an incoming eastbound train struck her. Laing lost a leg and suffered broken ribs, facial bone fractures and internal injuries, including the loss of her spleen.

The Plaintiff’s Case

Laing’s personal injury lawyers argued that the train’s operator should have applied the brakes of the 14-ton vehicle, and sounded the horn sooner as it approached the station. The attorneys also argued that TriMet, the state agency that operates the rail line, failed to implement a consultant’s recommendations made years earlier to install “swing gates” at pedestrian crossings. The gates would require people to stop and look before crossing the tracks.

Defense Says Fault Was Plaintiff’s

Counsel for TriMet claimed that Laing failed to observe prominently displayed warning signs posted at all crossings, as well as the blistered surface commonly installed at many crosswalks.

A large part of the supporting evidence for the defendant’s argument was in the form of a surveillance video recording, taken that day at the scene.  The urveillance footage showed Laing wearing a hoodie that may have impaired Laing’s peripheral vision, the lawyers argued. Another distraction, they said, were the ear buds in Laing’s ears playing loud music. Plaintiff’s counsel countered that there was no way to prove the volume of the music. The jurors agreed, and did not believe the fact that she was wearing a hoodie had any direct bearing on the case.

Later, a local newspaper requested  the video footage, which graphically depicts the accident and its aftermath. Despite motions by the defense to withhold the footage, the judge in the case agreed to the newspaper’s request.

Liability Assigned

As is typical in personal injury cases, the jury divided the liability among the parties. They found Laing 42 percent responsible, and TriMet 43 percent liable. The train operator was held responsible for the remaining 15 percent. Based on those figures, Laing would have received $8.7 million, or 58 percent.

But defense counsel successfully argued that because of a state law limiting the liability of government agencies, Laing should get no more than $682,800. Laing’s medical expenses have already exceeded the reduced amount of her award by nearly $120,000.

The Aftermath

In the months following the mishap, friends and co-workers at Laing’s place of employment began an online crowdfunding campaign on her behalf. While her medical insurance covered much of the cost of her treatment and recovery, her injuries exceeding those limits significantly as noted above.

Since the accident, which occurred in 2015, Laing has more or less recovered from the accident, although she is permanently disabled. She could choose to appeal the reduction of her award, but her counsel has not yet determined whether or not she will do so.