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Show 13 CONSUMERS manner in which auto accident victims in this country compensated for their economic loss. in the • The are study emphasized the fact that under the present system, 50 per cent of the people injured in auto accidents receive no compensation for their injuries since they are found "at fault" in a negligence suit. That figure may be slightly lower in states that have :-d great inequities comparative negligence statutes. The study also revealed that if an innocent victim in an auto accident received only minor injuries (under $500), the court system usually awarded him 4Y2 times his actual loss on the average, while those who suffered major injuries recovered on the average only one-third of their economic loss. In 1967, auto insurance repaid only 20 per cent of the $5.1 million in compensable losses resulting from death and serious injuries that year. • The DOT study also revealed that the present system of com pensating victims through court suits and auto insurance is ex tremely inefficient. For every dollar the American people spend on auto insurance premiums, only 42 cents ever gets back to an indi vidual who gets hurt. Seriously on the average to collect their injured victims must wait two years damages if the other party was at and accident tie cases 17 fault, up per cent of judge and court time in all the states. Lawyers took in $1.3 billion in fees in 1970 by rep resenting those who were in auto accidents, and insurance agents took in $1.3 billion in commissions from selling auto insurance. • Under the no-fault insurance recovers his losses from his accident. The own concept, the victim of insurer no an accident matter who caused the major advantage of the no-fault system is that each injured party receives compensation for his economic loss to the extent of his coverage without time-consuming and expensive court battles. As indicated by Secretary Volpe's quote above, the Nixon Administration submitted a proposal (H Con Res 241 and S Con Res 23) that urges the states to implement no-fault reform, without binding federal guidelines or standards. On the other hand, several Congressional Democrats including Senators Warren G. Magnuson and Phillip A. Hart (D Mich.) and Representatives John E. Moss (D Calif.) and Bob Eckhardt (D Texas) have introduced legislation calling for a nationally uniform no-fault system, leaving specific rate regulations to the states. The Magnuson-Hart bill (S 945) was reported out of the Senate Commerce Committee May 25, 1972, over mainly Republican opposition. State run :s::w "no-fault" |
