Times Staff Report

CROWN POINT | A Lake Superior Court jury on Thursday night awarded a record $1.1 million judgment to a 61-year-old Hobart woman for the fractured hip she suffered in a 2001 car crash.

The verdict is the largest ever reported for a hip injury in Indiana.

Patricia Zdonek, 61, won the verdict against Allstate Insurance Co. for the injuries she sustained on June 5, 2001, when James Woodside, 30, suddenly pulled onto 61st Avenue from a private drive near Colorado Street, cutting off Carl Falashetti, 81, of Hobart.

Falashetti swerved into the opposite lane of travel, striking Zdonek's car head-on, causing her injury.

Woodside, formerly of Hobart, has since relocated to Florida. According to Zdonek's attorney, Kenneth J. Allen of Kenneth J. Allen & Associates, Woodside was an uninsured motorist.

Zdonek had taken an uninsured motorist policy from Allstate, which is required to pay the damages resulting from Woodside's negligence, which was admitted at trial.

Zdonek underwent emergency surgery on her hip and later required a total hip replacement, incurring medical bills of almost $100,000 and losing income from her real estate business. Zdonek has been a Realtor in Northwest Indiana for more than 25 years.

"There is simply no amount of money in the world which will compensate her from what she has gone through. Pat's golden years have been forever tarnished by a painful and permanent injury. And she will likely require other hip surgeries in the future, something which weighs heavily on her mind," Allen said.

"But the jury recognized the significance of the harm done and rendered a good verdict."

After the verdict, Zdonek said the ordeal has been a nightmare for her and her family.

"But it has also made me much more compassionate toward others with disabilities. I just want to thank the jurors for their verdict, and now go forward with my life," she said.