FEBRUARY 9, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. McGEHEE, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 853] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 853) for the relief of the legal guardian of Gilda Cowan, a minor, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 1, line 5, strike out "David Cowan the sum of $10,000, as compensation for and" and insert in lieu thereof "the legal guardian of Gilda Cowan, a minor, of Chicago, Illinois, the sum of $1,500". Page 1, line 7, strike out "for damages". Page 1, line 8, strike out "his daughter". A similar bill was reported favorably by this committee during the Seventy-eighth Congress, first session, and passed the House but no action was taken in the Senate before final adjournment of Congress. The facts will be found fully set forth in House Report No. 953, Seventy-eighth Congress, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report. [H. Rept. No. 953, 78th Cong., 1st sess.] The purpose of the proposed legislation is to appropriate the sum of $2,500 to David Cowan as the natural guardian of his minor daughter, Gilda Cowan, for injuries sustained on April 28, 1934, as a result of an accident at Opa Locka Flying Field, Miami, Fla., when she was run over by the trailer attached to the dirigible Macon. STATEMENT OF FACTS It appears that on April 28, 1934, the Navy Department dirigible Macon was moored at Opa Locka Flying Field, Miami, Fla. People were permitted to visit this dirigible, and during certain periods of the day there was a naval officer upon what they called the Navy Department trailer, which was attached to the dirigible, and he would give lectures and explain the mechanism of the Macon. Mr. and Mrs. Cowan, with their child, Gilda Cowan, age 6, were among some of the people who were listening to the lecture that was being given at this particular time. It appears that this particular trailer had moved back and forth on two or three occasions by different gusts of wind, which would indicate that there must have been some negligence on the part of the naval employees in not properly blocking the trailer, or perhaps properly guarding it. As the result of this trailer moving back and forward, it ran over the leg of Gilda Cowan, and she was rather severely injured. After the accident the child was taken to the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Fla., where she was given a medical examination and X-rays taken. The X-ray examination revealed that the right knee, leg, and foot had been seriously injured and that the distal end of the first phalanx of the second toe had been fractured, the small distal fragment thereof being displaced toward the big toe. The leg and foot were put in a plaster cast for about 2 months. As a result of the accident the child lost a year from school. The hospital bill amounted to $131.90. After leaving the hospital in Florida she was taken to her home in Chicago, where she remained in bed for approximately 6 weeks. Then she was permitted to be up and around but was unable to walk without assistance. The record indicates that the child was attended by some of the best surgeons they could secure in an effort to eliminate this scar. She had X-ray and radium treatments. The parents made a total outlay of hospital and medical expenses of $611.15. It is the opinion of your committee that the naval employees were negligent in not having warning signs around the dirigible and should not have permitted people to gather so close to it. It seems there was no effort to keep them back at a safe distance. Therefore, your committee recommend favorable consideration to the bill, as amended, in the amount of $2,500. Appended hereto is the report of the Navy Department, together with other pertinent evidence. NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington. Hon. DAN R. McGEHEE, Chairman of the Committee on Claims, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN. The bill H. R. 2126, for the relief of David Cowan, 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 David Cowan the sum of $10,000, as compensation for and in full settlement of all claims for damages against the United States for injuries sustained by his daughter, Gilda Cowan, a minor when, on April 28, 1934, a Navy Department trailer attached to the dirigible Macon, at Opa Locka Flying Field, Miami, Fla., ran over her right leg. It appears from the records of the Navy Department that on the date named in the bill the U. S. S. Macon was moored to a mooring mast at Opa Locka, Fla., and was visited by many people daily. Every effort was made to prevent injuries to visitors, and to that end not only were warning signs placed on the riding-out car but also visitors were constantly warned to keep clear by the personnel on duty. The circumstances surrounding the injury to Gilda Cowan, the injured party named in the bill, who was then 6 years of age, are set forth in the enclosed copy of report of June 14, 1934, by the commanding officer of the Naval Reserve aviation base, Opa Locka, Fla., from which the following excerpts are quoted, viz: "From the investigation made by the writer, the child was standing close to the tail car, kicking it or at it. The chief petty officer in charge of the tail car watch cautioned the mother of the child, who was close at hand, to make the child stand further away. However, the mother did nothing to make the child cease its kicking. A few minutes later the child kicked the car as it was moving and the child's foot was caught in the car and the child thrown to the ground. A rumor heard the following day was that the child had suffered a broken bone in the foot. "Since the mother had been warned, not once but several times, to keep the child away, but took no steps to safeguard her child, the writer took no further action in the matter." The child was taken to the hospital tent on the grounds of the aviation base and given first aid treatment by naval representatives, after which she was removed to the James M. Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Fla. The enclosed copy of report of April 30, 1934, of said hospital, contains a description of her injuries. The opinion of the commanding officer of the U. S. S. Macon on the circumstances of the accident is embodied in his report of June 25, 1934, particular attention being invited to the following paragraph thereof, viz: "It appears that in this particular case, the child was warned on several occasions to keep clear, as was her mother, as the car and ship moved along the track due to gusts of wind. Undoubtedly the prompt action of the personnel on duty at the car at the time prevented a more serious accident. The commanding officer is of the opinion that provisions for the proper safeguarding of visitors were taken at all times." No information is available in the Navy Department as to the expenses actually incurred by the claimant, nor as to the permanency of the injury sustained by his daughter so that no recommendation may be made as to the extent of the relief sought in the bill. The cost of the proposed legislation is $10,000. In view of the foregoing and as the available records fail to indicate that the responsibility for the accident may be imputed to the negligence of Government personnel, the Navy Department recommends against the enactment of the bill H. R. 2126. The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of this recommendation. Sincerely yours, JAMES FORRESTAL. To Whom It May Concern: JAMES M. JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, This is to certify that one Gilda Cowan, age 6, was brought into the emergency ward of the Jackson Memorial Hospital on April 28, 1934. Examination showed a fracture with slight displacement of the distal end of the first phalanx of the second toe of the right foot. In addition there were multiple abrasions in the popliteal space and medial surface of the right leg, as well as an ecchymotic area on the right foot. JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, AFFIDAVIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, State of Illinois, County of Cook, ss: (1) David Cowan and Eva Cowan being first duly sworn on oath depose and state that they are the parents of Gilda Cowan, who is now 16 years of age. (2) Affiants further state that they reside in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, in a common household and residing with them is the aforesaid child, Gilda Cowan. (3) Affiants further state that on the 28th day of April A. D. 1934, while spectators at Opa Locka Flying Field, Miami, Fla., together with their daughter, Gilda Cowan, who was then 6 years of age, an accident occurred without negligence on the part of the said affiants or their said daughter; that said accident was the result of the carelessness and negligence of members of the crew of the dirigible Macon, then the property of the United States Navy. (4) Affiants further state that on said date the said dirigible Macon and the trailer attached thereto were left unguarded; that said dirigible Macon and trailer were not kept at a safe distance from the spectators who had entered the field on that day for an inspection tour of said dirigible; that said inspection tour was at the invitation of the Navy Department to all citizens of the United States then visiting in Miami, Fla. (5) Affiants further state that they were in the exercise of due care and caution for their own safety and for the personal safety of their child, the said Gilda Cowan, and further state that their said child was in the vicinity of the trailer prior to the accident, and further allege that said child was not told or directed at any time prior to the accident to remain aw ay from the trailer. They also state that one of these affiants, the mother of said child, was not cautioned by any member of the crew to remain away from the trailer. (6) Affiants further state that a member of the crew of the Macon was seated upon the trailer which was attached to the tail end of the ship rudder and standing stationary upon the tracks, and in the midst of his discussion and lecture as to the mechanism of the ship, a large group of people were permitted to approach the trailer and ship at close range; that a gust of wind blew the trailer backward a short distance, but irrespective of this change in position of said trailer, the young man continued his discussion. (7) Affiants further state that during the discourse and lecture given by the member of said crew, a further change in the direction of the wind caused the trailer to be shifted forward to its original position at a great rate of speed. (8) Affiants further state that Gilda Cowan, then aged 6, was attending said lecture and was attired in beach pajamas; that the suction caused by the wind caught the said beach pajamas into the wheel of the trailer and her right leg was run over by said trailer. (9) Affiants further state that, had the members of the crew of the Macon taken the necessary precautions to attach the trailer to the ground in a secure manner, the trailer would not have shifted backward and forward according to the change in the direction of the wind, thereby preventing the occurrence of the accident in question. (10) Affiants further state that Eva Cowan, an older sister, and the member of the crew conducting the lecture and seated upon the trailer, extricated the said Gilda Cowan from underneath the wheel of said trailer and thereafter, other Individuals, whose names are unknown, assisted in carrying the said Gilda Cowan to the first-aid station on the field, (11) Affiants further state that an examination disclosed that the injuries were of a serious nature; that the said child was removed to the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Fla.; that all details were recorded by the members of the crew of the dirigible Macon and a record of the facts and circumstances surrounding the accident, as well as the injuries resulting therefrom, as could be disclosed by hasty examination, were duly recorded. (12) Affiants further state that subsequently at said hospital, a medical examination was made and X-rays taken. That said X-rays and examination revealed that the right knee, leg, and foot of the said Gilda Cowan, then aged 6, had been seriously injured and that the distal and of the first phalanx of the second toe of said foot had been fractured; the small distal fragment thereof being displaced toward the big toe. (13) Affiants further state that the aforesaid injuries necessitated an operation to correct the fractured condition of the toe and additional injuries to other portions of the foot and leg, and supsequently the entire right foot and leg were encased in a plaster cast for a period of about 60 days. (14) Affiants further state that the said Gilda Cowan was confined in the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Fla., from the date of the accident until the 11th day of May A. D. 1934, and thereafter on May 15, 1934, departed for her home in Chicago, Ill., together with her mother and sister; that upon her arrival in Chicago at her home she was immediately confined to bed and remained there continuously for a period of 6 weeks under the care of a physician. (15) Affiants further state that following this 6-week period the said Gilda Cowan, then aged 6, was permitted to be up and around but had to be assisted about in her home; that although she was forced to rely upon the use of crutches and because of her tender years, assistance was a necessity. (16) Affiants further state that during all of this time the said child, Gilda Cowan, was unable to resume her regular school course until almost at the close of the school year in June 1934. (17) Affiants further state that there is a permanent disfigurement and discolored scar upon the right leg of the said Gilda Cowan, which permanent disfigurement and scar are the direct results of said accident. (18) Affiants further state that attached hereto is a photograph of said Gilda Cowan, taken on February 26, 1943, and almost simultaneously with the affidavit heretofore presented in this matter; that heretofore submitted are pictures taken of the right leg of said Gilda Cowan within 6 months after said accident. (19) Affiants further state that medical science has definitely determined that the said disfigurements and discolored scar are of permanent duration, that the statements of the attending physicians are a part of this affidavit by reference thereto, said statements having been heretofore submitted. (20) Affiants further state that the said Gilda Cowan showed inclinations toward dancing and dramatic art; that from the time she was 3 years of age up to about the time of the said accident she was enrolled at the McDowell School of Dancing and Dramatic Art in Chicago, and for the period of about 31⁄2 years she studied dancing and dramatic art, devoting most of her time, however, to specialty dancing and character parts in dramatics. (21) Affiants further state that prior to the time of the said accident she appeared in various dramatic plays such as Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Spring Festival, and exhibited at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago; that she gave many performances at her school in specialty dancing, all of which performances were special performances and for the benefit of the public. (22) Affiants further state that she, likewise, appeared in a play at the Sherman Hotel and one in the Morrison Hotel in Chicago. (23) Affiants further state that since the said accident and by virtue of her injuries, she was forced to abandon her dancing for many years and, because of the scars and permanent disfigurements, has been unable to appear in public as a dancer, because of the unsightly condition of her leg. (24) Affiants further state that at the present time she is compelled to wear dresses much longer than those now in style in order to conceal the scars and permanent disfigurements on her leg, because of its unsightly condition. (25) Affiants further state that the expenses incurred by them as a result of said injuries are itemized as follows, to wit: James M. Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Fla.. Virginia Humphries, registered nurse. Dr. A. H. Weiland, orthopedic specialist, Coral Gables, Fla. Drs. Ferdinand A. Vogt, H. H. Ward, and Cleghorn, Miami, Fla. Dr. Theo. Cornbleet, Chicago, Ill., X-ray and radium specialist- Total.... $131.90 91.00 50.00 36. 00 2.25 150.00 150.00 611. 15 (26) Affiants further state that they hereby make claim for and in behalf of the said Gilda Cowan for a sum sufficient to reimburse them for their expenses as hereinbefore itemized, and for such reasonable sums as shall seem proper for the injuries sustained as outlined in this affidavit and as visualized in the pictures made a part hereof. And further affiants saith not. DAVID COWAN, Subscribed and sworn to before me this 20th day of September A. D. 1943. [SEAL] ARTHUR P. FEIGEN, Notary Public. Mr. DAVID COWAN, 5717 Winthrop Avenue. CHICAGO, March 8, 1935. In account with DR. MAXWELL P. BOROVSKY For professional services rendered Gilda May 18, 1934, to June 15, 1934.......... $150 Received payment. H. Repts., 79–1, vol. 1- -21 M. P. BOROVSKY, M. D. |