Install new body complete with seats, luggage racks, doors, windows, sign compartment, door openers, lights, and floor covering. Install new right gas tank.. Install new battery.. Install new gas lines. Install new heater... Install new instrument-panel assembly. Install new steering wheel... Install 2 new windshield wipers.. Install new defroster fan.. Repair air-brake system. Adjust right front tire, 925 by 18, 75 percent. Labor to remove front suspension, gas tank, rear suspension, motor and driving gear assembly, all axles, wheels, springs, air-brake lines, gearshifting controls, all brake pedals and controls, all gas controls, wiring, and gear-shifting levers, and to refit to a new body (480 hours at $2.50) Refinish, restripe, and reletter new body.. Total.... Value of above bus before the accident. - Parts and labor $5,800 50 35 20 75 30 10 30 5 40 75 1, 200 300 7, 670 8, 500 200 O HERBERT PETER, Surveyor and Appraiser. MARCH 16, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. CRAVENS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 2193] The Committee on the Judiciary to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2193) for the relief of Robert E. Graham, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendment is as follows: Page 1, line 5, strike out "$10,000" and insert "$3,500". The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay the sum of $3,500 to Robert E. Graham, of Collins, Miss., in full settlement of all claims against the United States for personal injuries, medical and hospital expenses, and loss of earnings sustained as a result of an accident involving a United States Army vehicle, in Collins, Miss., on November 14, 1943. STATEMENT OF FACTS It appears that on the morning of November 14, 1943, Mr. Graham was a passenger in an automobile driven by Robert E. Warren traveling south on United States Highway No. 49, and arriving at the intersection of United States Highway No. 84, in Collins, Miss., an Army convoy traveling east on United States Highway No. 84 collided with an Army bus. There is conflicting evidence in connection with which vehicle had the right-of-way upon reaching the intersection. The driver of the Army bus states that he reduced his speed as he neared the intersection and the amber warning of the traffic signal came on. Mr. Warren, the driver of the civilian car, and Mr. Graham both state in their affidavits that the Army bus had a red light and the driver of the civilian car had the green light. Mr. James D. Arrington, who was sitting in front of a gasoline station at the intersection, states that a motorcycle rider came up to the intersection and remained there until some of the convoy came through the intersection, but had gone on when the fifth vehicle, the one that was in the collision, came along. Mr. Arrington further states that the Army vehicle was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed. The Department of the Army is opposed to the enactment of this bill because of an accident in which Mr. Graham was in a short time before the one involving the Army vehicle. It is true that there was a previous accident, however, the evidence clearly indicates that the one involving the Army vehicle was the most serious one and caused the major part of Mr. Graham's injuries. The Department of the Army states there was no negligence on the part of the Army driver. Your committee disagrees with this contention in view of the fact that a guard should have been on duty at the intersection until all vehicles had passed through. It is the custom of all vehicles in a convoy to follow through an intersection, and this was done on this occasion. Your committee is of the opinion that the injuries sustained by Mr. Graham in the second accident, which involved the Army vehicle, were caused by the negligence of the Army driver in not having his vehicle under control when entering an intersection with the light showing red or amber. There is preponderance of evidence that the civilian car had the right-of-way and that Mr. Graham received his major injuries at that time. The bill was introduced for the sum of $10,000, and your committee feels that even if a part of the injuries. was sustained in the accident with the Army vehicle, he should be paid the sum of $3,500 for such injuries. Therefore, the bill is amended to read "$3,500" and your committee recommends favorable consideration to the bill as amended. Hon. DAN R. MCGEHEE, Chairman, Committee on Claims, House of Representatives. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 13, 1945. DEAR MR. MCGEHEE: The War Department is opposed to the enactment of H. R. 3248, Seventy-ninth Congress, a bill for the relief of Robert E. Graham. This bill would authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to pay "the sum of $10,000 to Mr. Robert E. Graham, of Collins, Mississippi, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for personal injuries, medical and hospital expenses, and loss in earnings sustained as a result of a collision between the automobile in which he was riding and a United States Army vehicle on United States Highway 49 in Collins, Mississippi, on November 14, 1943." On the morning of November 14, 1943, Robert E. Graham, of Collins, Miss., was involved in two automobile accidents. The first accident resulted from a collision between an automobile operated by Mr. Graham and the automobile of John Coulter, of Hattiesburg, Miss. The second accident resulted from a collision of an Army vehicle and the automobile of Robert E. Warren, R. F. D. No. 2, Pelahatchie, Miss., in which Mr. Graham was riding as a passenger, and occurred about 40 minutes after the first accident. In an affidavit executed by Mr. Graham on September 14, 1944, he made the following statement concerning the 'injuries sustained by him in the first accident: "In the first accident I had injured both of my knees, my back and right side, and had broken the little finger of my left hand. Some people who live near the scene of that first accident came to help me and I had them call for Dr. DeWitt Allred, my regular family physician. My right knee and my finger were too painful for me to walk; I felt sick and didn't feel like walking; and I was not able to walk because of my right knee. By the time I learned that Dr. Allred was not available, Mr. Warren had offered to drive me home and I accepted his kindness." It appears that after the first accident Mr. Graham was placed in a 1935 Plymouth coupe, owned and operated by Robert E. Warren, for the purpose of being driven to him home. Shortly thereafter Mr. Warren's automobile, in which Mr. Graham was riding as a passenger, was proceeding south on U. S. Highway No. 49 in Mississippi at an estimated speed of 40 miles an hour, approaching the intersection of U. S. Highway No. 49 with U. S. Highway No. 84. The intersection in question was protected by an electrict traffic signal light which was red for north- and south-bound traffic on U. S. Highway No. 49. At the same time an official convoy of five Army vehicles were proceeding east on U. S. Highway No. 84 and passing through said intersection. The driver of the fifth unit in the convoy, a 100-passenger Army bus, reduced his speed to about 25 miles an hour as he neared the intersection, and as he entered the intersection the amber warning of the traffic signal came on in addition to the green light. While the fifth unit in the convoy was passing through the intersection, Mr. Warren entered said intersection at an undiminished speed and against the red traffic signal light and crashed into about the center of the left side of the Army bus. The force of the impact knocked open the right door of Mr. Warren's automobile and Mr. Graham was thrown through the door to the pavement. As a result of the accident Mr. Warren's automobile was extensively damaged. Mr. Graham contends that he sustained additional personal injuries in the second accident, but the evidence fails to show the nature of any injury sustained in the latter accident. In his statement of September 14, 1944, Mr. Graham stated: "On the way home the collision with the Government vehicle occurred. I had spoken to Mr. Warren about getting Dr. Calhoun from Mount Olive, Miss., about 11 miles away from Collins, because I had a bad wound in my right knee and wanted to have it, and my other injuries, taken care of as soon as possible. At the time I was in considerable pain. After we got out into the intersection of U. S. Highways 49 and 84 I saw that there was going to be a collision between Mr. Warren's car and the Government vehicle. I was so scared and nervous from the prior accident that when I saw the Government vehicle I became very excited. I remember hearing but not seeing the crash; I must have closed my eyes. I must have been thrown out of the car because the next thing that I remember is that I was lying on the concrete pavement on my right side. I succeeded in picking myself up and had started to walk away when Mayor James D. Arrington of Collins came to help me. He took me to his car and drove me the rest of the way home." Mr. Graham, upon arriving at his home, was given first-aid treatment by an officer of the Medical Corps. Thereafter Dr. DeWitt T. Allred, of Collins, Miss., was called and he treated Mr. Graham for the injuries sustained by him. On December 21, 1943. Dr. Allred submitted the following statement: "I treated Mr. [Robert E.] Graham for laceration and contusion of the right knee, contusion and abrasion of the face and head, and various slight abrasions and contusions of other parts of the body which were of minor consequence. I dressed the wounds then and advised him to remain in bed until further notice. I visited him once to twice a day for a total of approximately six visits to his house, during which time he was confined to bed. He made approximately five visits to my office after that, the first visit of which was approximately 10 days after the accident. I do not know whether he attended to his duties at his office when he commenced his visits to my office. I did not take any X-rays of any of his injuries, nor were any sutures taken in any of his wounds. When I last saw him professionally, about December 1, 1943, he complained of some headache, and considerable soreness and pain of the knee joint. There is some possibility that there may be some permanent effects from the head and knee injuries." On September 15, 1944, Dr. Allred made the following supplemental statement: "Since December 1, 1943, I have administered no treatments to Mr. Graham but I have had a few consultations with him regarding his subjective symptoms, which include inability to sleep and pain in the right knee, right hip, back, shoulders, and neck. I have prescribed sedatives to him to promote sleep and to alleviate any pain which he has. "The prognosis of any joint injury is very difficult to make. Therefore, it is possible that in the future Mr. Graham may be bothered by his knee injury. I am unable to state at this time whether he will be bothered by it, and, if so, to what extent. I attach very little importance to the neck and hip injuries because those symptoms are subjective. Any hip pain would result from the knee injury because the blow to the knee of the right leg caused a severe wound and such a blow would disturb the hip and sacroiliac joints. Mr. Graham received no permanent scars except the one his right knee, "My total charges to date to Mr. Graham amount to $35. Those charges cover all treatments and consultations regarding the injuries sustained by him in both accidents. It is impossible for me to apportion the charges between the injuries sustained in the first and in the second accidents. "I estimate that Mr. Graham at this time suffers from a partial disability of about 50 percent from all the injuries to his knee, hip, head, back, and shoulders. It is impossible to make a prognosis of the future amount of disability or the partial disability resulting from any one of the injuries which he sustained." On October 26, 1944, Mr. Graham was examined by a board of oflicers of the Medical Corps at the regional hospital, Camp Shelby, Miss., whose report was entirely negative with the following exceptions: "Neck: No loss of motion in any direction. Complains of pain in region of sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae. No abnormality palpable or visible in this area. Thyroid not palpable. No enlarged cervical glands palpable. "Extremities: Complains of pain in region of right buttock and deep palpation in area causes pain, which does not radiate down the leg. Straight leg raising elicits no pain but combined flexion and abduction of the hip joint causes pain. No crepitus felt. Movements not limited in flexion and extension of hip. There is a scar, purple in color and about three-eighths of an inch in its longest diameter, over the right patella. It is not adherent. The knees flex well, the joints do not show signs of excess fluid, and no crepitus is felt. The feet are normal. Upper extremities are normal. "Reflexes: Physiologic throughout. "X-rays: The lumboscaral and sacroiliac joints are essentially negative. The right transverse process of the first lumbar vertebra and the left transverse process of the third lumbar vetebra are slightly irregular, a defect which may be due to old trauma. This trauma would have had to occur some years ago-at least 5 years ago. "Knees: Negative. "Cervical vertebrae: AP and lateral views reveal no pathology.” The claims officer who made a careful investigation of this accident made the following findings: "The post claims officer finds that the civilian driver violated speed regulations on his approach to the intersection; that claimant [the civilian driver] carelessly operated his vehicle without properly observing the roadway he was then traversing *; that claimant's vehicle was being used while the same was not equipped with adequate brakes *; and by otherwise failing to heed the * * * * ** * * rules of the road promulgated in the interests of safe driving "Examination has been conducted of passenger in the civilian vehicle [Robert E. Graham] who claims to have suffered injuries as a result of the collision. the post claims officer finds that this accident did not result in his alleged injuries, or otherwise contribute to his present alleged condition. "The claims officer finds further that the negligence, carelessness, and recklessness of Warren (claimant-driver) may be lawfully attributed to Graham by reason of the control which he assumed over the claimant [Warren] during the operation of the vehicle before and at the time of the occurrence reported herein, * * The records of the War Department show that as a result of the injuries sustained by Mr. Graham on November 14, 1943, he incurred medical expenses in the aggregate amount of $35 for professional services rendered by Dr. De Witt Allred. The evidence fails to disclose that he incurred any other expenses as a result of this accident. At the time of the accident Mr. Graham was 42 years of age and the War Department has no information concerning the number of his dependents, if any, or the extent of their dependency. Mr. Graham was clerk of the circuit court of Covington County, Miss., at the time of his injury. As a result of his injuries it was necessary for him to remain away from his work for a period of approximately 10 days but his duties were performed during his absence by other members of his family and he sustained no loss in earnings as a result of his injury. On December 6, 1943, a suit was filed in the circuit court of Forrest County, Miss., by Robert E. Graham, plaintiff, against John Coulter, defendant, in which damages in the amount of $15,000 were claimed for personal injuries sustained as the result of an automobile accident on November 14, 1943 (the first accident in which Mr. Graham was involved on that date), and in which it was alleged that "the plaintiff was seriously, painfully, and permanently injured in both of his legs, side, back, and hand, and otherwise seriously, painfully and permanently injured.” In his affidavit dated September 14, 1944, Mr. Graham made the following statement concerning this suit: "I have brought suit in the circuit court in Hattiesburg, Miss., against John Coulter, who was the cause of the first accident because he ran into my automobile |