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No-fault penalty unjust?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This month
the U.S. Senate is holding
hearings on a system of
federal no-fault auto in
surance. One group strongly
opposed to the Senate bill is
the National Association of In
surance Agents.
By Gerard R. Teßockhorst
No-fault auto insurance is a
necessity for the motoring
public. But a federal no-fault
proposal, in the form of the
Hart-Magnuson bill, is not the
answer and. in fact, is mis
leading the American public
through misrepresentation of
its intent and benefits.
The 130,000 independent in
surance agents of the country
have long recognized that the
manner in which auto accident
victims are compensated for in
juries must be reformed. The
system calling for court action
to determine responsibility for
an accident and assess compen
sation is tedious, over-burdened
and unfair.
No-fault auto insurance, as it
is being developed at the state
level, provides a basis for
remedying the weaknesses of
the system. More accurately
called “first party coverage,”
present no-fault laws provide
that all victims receive com
pensation for their injuries
from their own insurance com
panies. They receive prompt
payments for hospital, medical
and funeral expenses, as well as
lost income, up to stipulated
limits regardless of who is at
Gerard R. Teßockhorst is
the president of the
National Association of In
surance Agents, Inc.
‘Pill’ not for all
By PATRICIA McCORMACK
UPI Family Health Editor
NEW YORK (UPI) - The
pill is a “highly effective and
generally safe” method of birth
control, but not for all women,
according to a new Rockefeller
Foundation report.
The report by Dr. Elizabeth
Connell, based on a review of
oral contraceptive research
from medical centers worl
dwide, was published Wednes
day in Family Planning
Perspectives, the journal of the
Planned Parenthood Federation
of America.
The major points:
—Oral contraceptives are
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fault for the accident.
If a victim’s expenses exceed
his state’s threshold, then he
can resort to court action to
determine fault and seek ad
ditional compensation. This
relieves the courts of the
burden of trying negligence
cases except for major ac
cidents. ,
It is significant to note that in
just over four years, 23 states
have enacted no-fault auto in
surancelaws. Nearly 53 percent
of the American public is now
covered by them. While these
laws vary in many respects,
they contain certain basic
provisions which meet the
needs of the motoring public in
those states.
The present no-fault laws
were developed to satisfy the
unique needs of the individual
states. They maintain the right
of the victim to sue. And, in
most states, they retain auto in
surance as the primary remedy
for injuries suffered in motor
vehicle accidents.
It is worth remembering that
no-fault insurance was only put
into practice in 1970. It is still
subject to experimentation and
no one at this time can say with
any certainty that one system
of no-fault is superior to
another.
We do know that it can work
and is working in many states.
But, the system is subject to
change as the states gain ex
perience and see the need for
modification. It is obvious that
the auto insurance needs of
residents of Colorado are not
the same as those of New
Yorkers; and Floridians have
different requirements from
citizens of Arkansas.
But, in the absence of long
term experience with no-fault
auto insurance, the United
“highly effective and generally
safe” for most women.
—The risk of developing
serious illness as a consequence
of taking the pill is small.
—Deaths associated with the
oral contraceptives are “of a
very low order of magnitude.”
—The pill’s long-term side
effects, unknown at this time,
must continue to be monitored
closely to safeguard women
using it.
One hundred and fifty million
women the world over have
used the pill. About 50 million
currently are using it, some 10
million in the United States.
Dr. Connell, associate direc
tor for health sciences of the
Rockefeller Foundation and
chairman of the National
Medical Committee of Planned
Parenthood, warned, however:
“Experience has tempered
the initial enthusiasm ... The
ingestion of powerful hormones
may exact a price: the pill is
not entirely safe for all women;
it may not always be reversi
ble; it is not always effective;
and it is not even simple for all
women to use.”
States Senate last year deter
mined that there was one no
fault system which could serve
the needs of the entire country.
As amended, the Hart-
Magnuson Bill (S-354) would set
a single standard for the entire
country and its unnecessarily
high benefits would invalidate
the work and laws of 22 of the 23
states which now have no-fault
insurance.
The Senate bill would include
unlimited medical and
rehabilitation benefits, plus
substantial benefits for lost in
come, replacement services
and survivor’s losses. It would
all but eliminate the right of the
citizen to sue, except in the
case of 90 days of continuous
disability or serious or perma
nent injury.
“It is obvious that the auto in
surance needs of residents of
Colorado are not the same as
those of New Yorkers; and
Floridians have different re
quirements from citizens of
Arkansas.”
If passed as it now stands, the
Senate bill would permit
removal of auto insurance as
the primary source of recovery
and replace it with qualified
group accident and health in
surance coverage. Auto in
surance would then be called
upon only to pay benefits not
covered by the group insurance.
Although this has an appealing
ring to it, this move would shift
the burden of compensation for
The review of major studies
of oral contraceptives conduct
ed to date showed:
—There is “no evidence
connecting use of oral con
traceptives with cancer of the
breast.” Indeed, there is “some
evidence that these agents may
actually be protective” against
benign breast disease. There is
no evidence of earlier onset or
increased incidence of endomet
rial cancer associated with pill
use. For cervical cancer
evidence is “conflicting,” with
resolution dependent upon “ad
ditional long-range data.”
—The increased risk of death
from thromboembolism as
sociated with the pill, estab
lished in early studies as
approximately three per 100,000
women per year, is confirmed
by more recent research, but
may now be “even lower
because of the lower-dosage
pills now in use.” Increased
risk of venous thrombosis of the
legs and cerebral thrombosis
have also been established.
—No link has yet been
established between pill use
and either liver dysfunction or
benign liver tumors. For
gallbladder disease, however,
two major studies have estab
lished increased risk associated
with pill use.
—Some women experience a
“slight elevation of blood
pressure” from use of the pill,
but this condition appears to be
reversible.
—Whether or not use of the
pill may affect a subsequent
pregnancy remains “an area of
continuing concern and study.”
Existing evidence does however
confirm the wisdom of stopping
use of the pill immediately
upon confirmation of pregnancy
and the abandonment of hor
mone-type pregnancy tests.
auto accidents to the general
public through higher group ac
cident and health insurance
premiums. Compensation to ac
cident victims would be delayed
since two separate insurance
companies would be involved in
the settlement.
This would be patently un
just.
Those who drive should con
tinue to bear the cost of
highway accidents. This is what
auto insurance was designed to
do.
In its single standard for per
sonal injury coverage, the
proposed Federal law only par
tially considers the great
variations existing between one
area of the country and
another. We know that wage
scales vary widely; hospital
and medical costs also differ.
Proponents of the Hart-
Magnuson bill have used the
argument that the states are
moving too slowly. This is
diversionary at best. In four
years we have seen 23 state no
fault laws passed. Many ad
ditional legislatures are hard at
work on no-fault this year.
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Page 9
Griffin Daily News Thursday, May 1,1975
Stolen goods recovered
at Douglasville home
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (UPI)
— Authorities have recovered
more than SIOO,OOO worth of
goods, which are believed to be
stolen, from the home Charles
E. “Chuck” Hill, a former
member of the Douglas County
Planning and Zoning Commis
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Douglas County detective
Chuck Goodman said raid by
FBI agents, other federal
officers and county officials at
Hill’s home produced guns,
military uniforms, air-to-ground
radio equipment and aerial
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