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Ellen Henkle, of Hamilton, who was seriously injured in 2006 when she was struck by a car was awarded $378,000 in damages today by a jury that determined the driver was negligent, in part, due to a large Garfield stuffed animal blocking his vision.

(courtesy photo)

HAMILTON -- The estate of a Hamilton woman seriously injured in 2006 when she was struck by a car was awarded $378,000 in damages today by a jury that determined the driver was negligent, in part, due to a Garfield stuffed animal hanging from a rearview mirror and blocking his vision.

"Plaintiff argued that the stuffed animal was a distraction, an obstruction, in violation of law requiring unobstructed windshield," said Dennis Brotman, an attorney at Lawrence-based Fox Rothschild.

Ellen Henkle, who was 52 at the time of the accident, required multiple surgeries and was disabled from the March 9, 2006 crash on Nottingham Way. Henkle, who worked for the state Department of Environmental Protection, died four years later of natural causes.

In addition to the $378,000 verdict for Henkle's estate, the jury awarded $95,000 to her husband Mark Henkle, who cared for her after she was disabled in the crash. Brotman represented the Ellen Henkle's estate and Mark Henkle during the two week trial.

The windshield of the black Ford Mustang was smashed in the crash.

The jury found that Thomas Hill of Hamilton, operated his 1998 black Ford Mustang negligently at the time of the crash. Hill was driving eastbound on Nottingham Way in the left lane and made a lane change into the right lane, where his car hit Ellen Henkle as she was crossing.

Hill's attorneys contended that he checked his rearview and side mirror, then looked over his shoulder before making the lane change, and did not see Henkle soon enough to stop when he returned his vision forward.

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