Animated reconstruction of a Feb. 25, 2015 accident at Logan and Walnut streets in Champaign involving pedestrian Patricia Marxmiller and a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus driven by Seth Stevens. The green figure represents Marxmiller.

URBANA — A Champaign County jury has awarded nearly $10 million to a Mahomet couple in connection with a bus accident last year in downtown Champaign.

After a week-long trial, the jury awarded 61-year-old Patricia Marxmiller, who was struck by a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus and lost both her legs, $9,422,232 in damages.

Damages for her husband, Ken, were awarded in the amount of $450,000.

It took less than two hours for the jury to reach that verdict shortly after lunch Wednesday, after one of the Marxmillers' lawyers, James Hagle, asked for total damages of about $20.3 million for the couple and the MTD’s lawyer, Marc Ansel said he thought reasonable compensation for the Marxmillers would be about $6.4 million.

The MTD has 30 days to appeal, and Ansel was non-committal about that, saying he’ll have to speak to his clients.

“We’re going to analyze this verdict,” he said.

Hagle said the Marxmillers lives are still filled with losses, but with the end of this case, they “can finally get to move forward with their lives.”

He and his law partner, Jeffrey Frederick, said they had to fight the MTD for most of the 18 months since the suit was filed soon after the Feb. 25, 2015 accident, before the MTD backed away from arguments that Patricia Marxmiller walked into the side of the bus rather than being struck by the bus when she had the right-of-way crossing Walnut Street in a crosswalk.

It was a “long hard process,” Hagle said.

The MTD was eventually found liable in the accident, and had the MTD acknowledged liability sooner, Frederick said, this legal action would have lasted more like a few months.

Frederick said it was especially upsetting to learn that the bus driver in the accident, Seth Stevens, had been placed on paid administrative leave rather than being fired after the accident.

Ansel declined to say whether Stevens is still employed with the MTD.

Frederick also said he and Hagle hope the MTD uses this to experience to improve its safety and training.

“The people of this community deserve better, safer drivers,” he said.

In his closing arguments, Hagle reminded the jurors of what they saw in videos and heard from 23 witnesses throughout the trial about what Patricia Marxmiller has gone through since the accident, about the loss of her independence, about pain she’s continued to suffer and how life has changed for both her and her husband forever.

“From the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed, nothing is the same,” he said.

In his own closing argument, Ansel acknowledged that Patricia Marxmiller had suffered a substantial loss but contended she’s been steadily improving since the accident.

“Is there no life left? Is there no reason to live?” he asked the jury.

Ansel said Patricia Marxmiller lost her legs, but she hasn’t lost her life, her home, or her faith. He pointed to her strong family, supportive and loving marriage, and determination that was demonstrated in the evidence, and said she’s already doing some of the things she did before the accident, though there are more challenges involved.

He also contended Patricia Marxmiller can still go to Illinois sporting events, and will find other people with disabilities there enjoying the games.

“A person is more than a sum total of their parts, and so is Pat Marxmiller,” he said.

Absent an appeal, this case may still not be quite over. Hagle and Frederick said some post-trial motions may be following, but declined to disclose details.

More to come on this developing story.

***

Debra Pressey's story following closing arguments today:

URBANA — The trial of a lawsuit filed by the victim of a bus accident and her husband against the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is now in the hands of a Champaign County jury, with one of their lawyers, James Hagle, saying he thinks about $20.3 million is a fair amount to award them for all they’ve lost.

In his own closing argument, the MTD’s attorney, Marc Ansel, said a more reasonable amount to compensate Patricia and Ken Marxmiller of Mahomet for the accident — in which Patricia was struck by an MTD bus last year and lost both her legs — is about $6.4 million.

The jury has been asked to decide damages for each of the Marxmillers separately, filling in numbers for various losses, with loss categories for Patricia including disability, disfigurement, emotional distress, pain and suffering and two economic losses — lost wages from her job at Christie Clinic, since she is unable to return to work, and past and future medical expenses.

For Ken Marxmiller, the jury has been asked to consider two categories: the loss of services his wife provided, and the loss of society, companionship and sexual relations.

The bulk of the amount Hagle asked the jury to consider for the Marxmillers was for Patricia Marxmiller, for whom he asked the jury to award $19.4 million in damages.

Hagle reminded the jurors of what they saw in videos and heard from 23 witnesses throughout the trial about what Patricia Marxmiller has gone through since the accident, about the loss of her independence, about pain she’s continued to suffer and how life has changed for both her and her husband forever.

“From the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed, nothing is the same,” he said.

Ansel, who didn’t bring any witnesses on behalf of the MTD, argued that, while Patricia Marxmiller suffered a substantial loss, she’s been improving since the accident.

“Is there no life left? Is there no reason to live?” he asked the jury.

Ansel said Patricia Marxmiller lost her legs, but she hasn’t lost her life, her home or her faith. He pointed to her strong family, supportive and loving marriage, and determination that was demonstrated in the evidence, and said she’s already doing some of the things she did before the accident, though there are more challenges involved.

He contended Patricia Marxmiller can still go to Illinois sporting events, and will find other people with disabilities there enjoying the games.

“A person is more than a sum total of their parts, and so is Pat Marxmiller,” he said.