Savage, Joe C.

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University of Kentucky

Kentucky Law JournalVolume 55 | Issue 3 Article 161967Trauma and the Automobile edited by William J.Curran and Neil L. ChayetJoe C. SavageFollow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kljRight click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefitsyou.This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky LawJournal by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.Recommended CitationSavage, Joe C. (1967) "Trauma and the Automobile edited by William J. Curran and Neil L. Chayet," Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 55 :Iss. 3 , Article 16.Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol55/iss3/16BooK REvmIvsThe properly employed inter vivos trust is, of course, a helpful,frequently-used and estate planning device, that in this day of empha-sis on trusts and estate planning in law schools, bar journals, and con-tinuing legal education programs, is familiar to both lawyers andlaymen. Yet, Mr. Dacey has the gall to state:Few laymen know about a living trust. Indeed, only a small proportionof attorneys know about it or understand its use. At least half of theattorneys who do know of it will either deny that knowledge or stronglyadvise against its use. The inter vivos trust, you see, is exempt from pro-bate. Most attorneys derive a substantial proportion of their income fromseeing the estates of deceased clients through probate. Seriously, now, doyou expect them to tell you how to avoid probate? I would put the pro-portion of attorneys who know about and recommend the inter vivos trustat less than 1%.6One wonders how Mr. Dacey reached his figure. The book establishesone statistic beyond question, however. At least one of "America'sleading estate planners" does not fully understand the concept of aninter vivos trust.Julian C. Juergensmeyer*0 LL.B., Duke University; member, Ohio Bar; Assistant Professor of Law,Indiana University.T rhiA AN = AuToMOBILE. Edited by William J. Curran and NeilL. Chayet. Cincinnati: W. H. Anderson Company, 1966. Pp. 475.$14.50.A book which is a composite of articles by many authors usuallyfails for lack of continuity and a central theme. Trauma and the Auto-mobile is, for the most part, an exception.Fifty thousand dead, one million injured, and two billion dollars-property damage each year, and rising each year, reads like thestatistics of an international holocaust; however, these are the figuresfor yearly automobile accidents in the United States. Little wonder,then, that Curran and Chayet of the Boston University Law-MedicineInstitute have made the reduction or even the stabilization of suchfigures the central theme of this bookBelieving that past approaches to the problem have tended toplace the blame on one of three causes-the driver, the vehicle, orthe highway-the editors state that what is presently lacking is ajoining of forces so that the problem can be attacked from all sides.The book, therefore, is a compilation of articles. It is divided intoO ld. at 13.1967]KENTUcKY LAW JOuRNALfive parts, viz: the vehicle, the driver, traumatic medicine, automobilelitigation, and proposals for a better system through future research.As to the vehicle, various articles show the effects of automobiledesign on injuries and what can be done to promote safer design.Twelve years of automotive crash research by various persons andinstitutions have conclusively shown that cars can be made muchsafer. The effects of the "second collision," i.e., the collision of thepassenger with the interior of his own vehicle, can be minimized by"passenger packaging," much like goods packaged for shipment. Seatbelts, padded dash, and stronger door locks are examples of passengerpackaging designs recently implemented by the industry.The industry has been criminally slow in altering design forsafety. Several authors, therefore, address themselves to the problemof how to prod the plodding. There is an article by Ralph Nader onthe role of the federal government in automobile safety and an articleby Albert Averbach on products liability. The former championsfederal intervention because a problem of such national magnitude canbest be solved by that instrumentality which governs nationally,Congress. The latter champions the plaintiff's trial bar, since corpora-tions might respond more quickly to demands for safer design whenthey are tapped for large judgments. Although written in 1963 andtherefore somewhat outdated in this mushrooming area of productsliability, Averbach's article is a classic.As to the driver, several articles deal with him. Understanding thedriving act and what is required of a person performing it has yet tobe accomplished. Little research has been done, but there are "medicalfactors," namely, physical, mental, or emotional states, which havebeen isolated. The articles discuss many relevant matters: the effect ofdrugs, alcohol, stimulants and hallucinogens; physical disabilities andmental and emotional states (such as aggression, suicide, and hostility).One interesting article discusses the use of a driving simulator forconducting tests and for driver education.As to the third part, traumatic medicine, several articles considerthe problems of diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of accidentvictims. Here the central theme of the book (approaches to reducingaccidents, deaths, and injuries) swings from accident prevention toinjury minimization through more intelligent medical understandingand care. One article, discussing injuries resulting from a selectedgroup of 125 accidents, shows typical injuries as a result of speed,position in the car, angle of impact, and objects struck within the car.A debate on whether "whiplash" is medically real or merely a mythdemonstrates the need for better medical understanding of human[Vol. 55,BooK BEv~mwstolerance to stress. An article on poor emergency room facilitiesthroughout the United States demonstrates the need for better medicalcare.Part four, automobile litigation and proposals for better systems,contains various articles which describe the present system andwhether other methods of handling claims would be better. The centraltheme has now switched from injury minimization to injury compensa-tion.In describing the present liability for fault system, the editorsincluded articles on the preparation and trial of a "darting child" case,the role of science in accident reconstruction, the use of photographicevidence in litigation, and a most fascinating study of the jury and itsfunction by Harry Kalven, Jr. For the trial attorney, this article aloneis worth the price of the book. In a given case, does a white, third-generation American, Catholic, middle-aged, married female make abetter juror for the plaintiff than a Negro, Protestant, young, skilledlaborer, single male? In suggesting other methods to compensateaccident victims, the editors chose an article by Robert E. Keeton andJeffery O'Connell on basic protection insurance. This is another in along line of attacks against the present system of shifting loss on thebasis of fault.As to the fifth part, future paths of research, articles concentrate onthe problems involved in automobile accident research. Here we aregiven a peek into the future as to how accidents might be researchedand solutions offered. One article, for example, deals with systemsengineering. The central theme has evidently shifted back to accidentprevention, i.e., prevention via sophisticated engineering analysis andcontrol.The book is not a must for anyone. Lawyers don't need it topractice law, doctors don't need it to practice medicine, law studentsdon't need it to pass the Bar, and insomniacs don't need it to passthe time. However, human beings, either as pedestrians, drivers, orpassengers, should be happy that these two gentlemen in Boston havetaken such a unique and total approach to a problem that touches usall so deeply. It is through such creativity and foresight that mankindinches towards solving its ills.foe C. Savage**LL.B., University of Kentucky; LL.M., Harvard; member, Kentucky Bar.

Trauma and the Automobile edited by William J. Curran and Neil L. Chayet

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Trauma and the Automobile edited by William J. Curran and Neil L. Chayet

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