MARCH 28 (legislative day, MARCH 18), 1949.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. MCCARRAN, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 652]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 652) for the relief of Laura Spinnichia, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay the sum of $5,000 to Laura Spinnichia, of Rochester, N. Y., in full settlement of all claims against the United States for personal injuries, medical and hospital and other expenses, sustained as a result of a fall on a slippery floor in MacDonough Hall, at the United States Naval Academy, on or about September 26, 1938.

AMENDMENT

On page 1, line 11, strike out the word "McDonald" and insert in lieu thereof "MacDonough".

STATEMENT

It appears that on or about September 26, 1938, Mrs. Spinnichia, with other members of her family, was visiting the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. While walking through MacDonough Hall, at about 3 p. m., she slipped and fell on the waxed floor in the gallery of the swimming pool. The laborer who applied the wax reported in a statement on September 29, 1938, that he had waxed the floor about 10 a. m. on the 26th, so that it was thoroughly dry by 11 a. m. He further stated that he observed the visitors as they came in and then heard a rumble, which was caused by the fall of Mrs. Spinnichia, who apparently fell over the sill of the floor and her heel slipped on the

wax. It was later determined that Mrs. Spinnichia received a broken leg and she was treated for this injury in hospitals in Baltimore, Md., and thereafter in Rochester, N. Y.

The Navy Department in a letter addressed to the chairman of the House Committee on Claims recommends against the enactment of the bill for the reason that "the information contained in the official report does not indicate that claimant's injury was due to negligence on the part of the Navy but, to the contrary, was due primarily to her own negligence." However, the Navy Department fails to state upon what facts its conclusion is based.

Your committee does note that the letter above referred to states that the laborer who waxed the floor at 10 a. m. was apparently still loitering in the vicinity at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, at the time the accident occurred. Under these circumstances it is reasonable to assume that perhaps he was still working on the polished floor and might not have completed his work at the hour stated.

The House of Representatives has found that there was a duty on the part of the Navy to take the highest degree of care that visitors to the Academy were not injured on the premises; and without substantial evidence of contributory negligence on the part of this claimant, the Senate committee should not find contrary to the House. Attached hereto is the letter of the Navy Department dated June 19, 1944.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, June 19, 1944.

Hon. DAN R. MCGEHEE,

Chairman of the Committee on Claims,

House of Representatives.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The bill (H. R. 4265) for the relief of Laura Spinnichia, was referred to the Navy Department by your committee with request for the opinion of the Navy Department as to its merits.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay "to Laura Spinnichia, of 299 First Street, Rochester, N. Y., the sum of $5,000, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for compensation for personal injuries sustained by her and for reimbursement of medical, hospital, and other expenses incurred by her as the result of having slipped and fallen on a dangerously slippery floor in McDonald Hall at the United States Naval Academy on or about the 26th day of September, 1938."

It appears from the records of the Navy Department that on the date named in the bill Mrs. Spinnichia, with other members of her family, was visiting the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. While walking through MacDonough Hall at about 3 p. m. she slipped and fell on the wax floor of the swimming pool in the gallery. Attention is invited to the fact that while the building was described in the bill as McDonald Hall, the accident occurred in MacDonough Hall.

The laborer who applied the wax reported in a statement of September 29, 1938, a copy of which is attached, that he had waxed the floor about 10 a. m. on the 26th of September so that it was thoroughly dry by 11 a. m. He further stated that he observed the visitors as they came in and then heard a rumble, which was caused by the fall of Mrs. Spinnichia, who apparently fell over the sill of the door and her heel slipped on the wax.

A medical officer of the Navy attached to the Academy made an immediate examination and determined the extent of her injuries to be as follows: Contusion of right lower thigh.

Muscle spasms of the thigh muscles.

Undetermined (fracture of neck of femur).

This officer advised that the patient be taken to the Emergency Hospital, Annapolis, Md., for an X-ray examination of the thigh and treatment. However, since she had a sister-in-law living in Baltimore the family decided to take her to the University Hospital in that city.

In a report of October 1, 1938, a copy of which is attached, the Superintendent of the Naval Academy advises that Mrs. Spinnichia was quartered in the emergency ward in the hospital last mentioned as a charity patient; that her family was on relief in New York State and therefore was unable to pay for hospitaliza

tion care.

An examination of her condition and circumstances was made by the American Red Cross. In a report of October 5, 1938, said agency stated that Mrs. Spinnichia on that date was occupying a bed in the recovery room of the University of Maryland Hospital as a free patient and was suffering from a hip fracture.

The report further shows that Mrs. Spinnichia was a nonresident of Baltimore; that her husband, Sylvester Spinnichia, lived at 299 First Street, Rochester, N. Y., and at the time of the accident at the Naval Academy she was visiting her aunt, Mrs. Mary Spinnichia, 1250 Sargent Street, Baltimore, Md. Mrs. Spinnichia's relatives were under the impression that war mothers were entitled to hospitalization and felt that Mrs. Spinnichia would be eligible since one of her sons served in the Army during World War I

The Red Cross communicated with the United States Veterans' Administration, who advised that war mothers were not entitled to hospitalization under the regulations of said Administration.

On receipt of H. R. 4265 instructions were issued to have Mrs. Spinnichia examined by a Navy medical officer in order to determine her condition at the present time. There is enclosed copy of a report of April 20, 1944, by the senior medical officer attached to the Office of Naval Procurement, Rochester branch, New York, from which it appears that claimant has a fixation of the right hip joint, with shortening of the right leg of one-half inch, and that she walked with the aid of a crutch and had a decided limp.

Attached to this officer's report is a letter of April 19. 1944, copy herewith, from Dr. William C. Sullivan at Rochester, under whose care Mrs. Spinnichia had been placed after her return to Rochester. This letter indicates the series

of operations and outlines that Mrs. Spinnichia actually had an injury of the hip and that prognosis for ultimate cure is poor. A board of Navy medical officers concur in this opinion as a result of their observations.

It will be noted from the medical officer's report that Mrs. Spinnichia had three different periods of hospitalization at the Genesee Hospital, Rochester, N. Y.; that all bills were paid by the city of Rochester and no part thereof was assumed by the claimant or her family Dr. William C. Sullivan has submitted a bill for $1,000 for professional services rendered, no part of which has been paid.

Prior to the injury Mrs. Spinnichia had worked, intermittently, at hotels, factories, and private homes. The medical officer reports that, considering her age at the time of her injury and the nature of employment, actual loss of earnings is difficult to estimate but that it is estimated that, considering her age of 58 years, actual loss of earnings was not more than $10 per week when working and she would be able to work only about one-half of the time.

The information contained in the official report does not indicate that claimant's injury was due to negligence on the part of the Navy but, to the contrary, was due primarily to her own negligence. As claimant has expended no money for medical, hospital, and other expenses, so far as can be ascertained, and did not have steady employment for any specified rate of wages, it is impracticable to determine what her actual losses amounted to.

The cost of the proposed legislation is $5,000.

The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that the enactment of the proposed legislation would not be in accord with the program of the President.

Respectfully,

O

JAMES FORRESTAL.

MARCH 28 (legislative day, MARCH 18), 1949.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. MCCARRAN, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1501]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1501) for the relief of the legal guardian of Rose Mary Ammirato, a minor, having considered the same, report favorably with an amendment, and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass. The amendment proposed is: At the end of the bill add a new section to read as follows:

SEC. 2. Private Law 447, 80th Congress, is hereby repealed.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to correct the language of Private Law 447, Eightieth Congress, which was a bill for the relief of this same claimant passed by the Congress and signed by the President. Through an oversight, the language, "out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated" was omitted in Private Law 447, Eightieth Congress, and the Comptroller General of the United States would not approve the appropriation without this provision. H. R. 1501 has been amended accordingly.

STATEMENT

Rose Mary Ammirato was struck by a post-office truck while crossing the street in New York City, when the traffic signals were in favor of this claimant and against the driver of the post-office vehicle.

The facts are fully set forth in House Report 103, Eighty-first Congress, first session, and need not be printed here.