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19 Miss. Law. 1 (1972)

handle is hein.barjournals/misly0019 and id is 1 raw text is: v. Fi \ ,- y isR - VOLUME NIX Official Monthly Publication of the Mississippi State Bar -JANUARY, 1972 'No-Fault' Insurance Passed In 5 States A new kind of aito insuranvc - costs- nionly known as no-fault - is comiung on with a rush. Starting lanuary 1. 1972, five Staths - Florida, I)tltware, Illinois, Oreoi and South ai),kota - s0vitch to plails that its- sort' piyonent of personal - injury claims from auto accidents without regard Ill fault. Massachilstts, first State to go the no- fauilt rute, is prepiring to hroad'n its coverage sistanltially as the systeim be- gins its stcond year there. At least out' major inisurane comp.iny has just bcgti selling a type of iito-fitl t policy oil i itionwide basis. Similar pltas are being offered by some smaller coni- panics on a regional basis. More than half of the States are ex- pected to consider no-fault insurance in their 1972 legislative sessions. Oni Dcccmber 21, 1971, Governor Ntl- son Rockefeller labeled adoption of io- falt insurance in New York State top priority for the coining year. And in Congress, too, pressure is btild- ing. Senate-committee consideration is ex- pected early in the new year on a coin- pulsory plan for tle whole country. Although passage is not considered in- minent, officials ott Capitol 1i111 say that some form of federal no-fault standards may be in the offing, Even before the latest spate of activity, James S. Kemper, Jr., president of the Kemper Insurance Group, predicted at a congressional hearing that a majority of motorists will be covered by some form of no-fault insurance within two years without any federal action. The first no-fault auto-insurance pro- gram began In Saskatchewan in 1947. A Government-run plan started in Puerto Rico in 1970. That same year Minnesota revised its laws to provide the option of direct payments to injured persons. Massachusetts was regarded as the breakthrough because of several special provisions: Coverage was compulsory. Di- rect payment of medical expenses and for partial loss of wages was guaranteed up to $2,000 per person. And the right to sue YLS WINS ABA PLAQUES Recently the Young Lawyers Section was awarded American Bar Association plaques for its drug abuse program conducted among junior high school students. Frank 0. Crosthwait, Jr., (left), past president of the State Bar's Young Lawyers Section, shows the plaques to Joseph i. Meadows, (center), current YLS president, and Thad Cochran, who conducted the award-winning program. was barred unless medical costs vexvvth'd $571%, or seriols or lasting injuries were in- ctirrvd. The $2,000 lituit is tnder rtview iu Masalchsetts, and sou cXpells predict it will iv ilcreased. A shody for tleT U. S. Department of Transportation showed that about 95 per .,ol oill persons iqiured in auto a.ei- dents incur medical expenses of less than $20,1(1. Thus, pitptonnts say, even a limit- ed no-fault plan should abolish the need for most lawsuits. The limitation on the right to sue in Massat'hosetts directly affects suits aimed at recovering damages for pain and stiff- erilg in addition to direct costs. Such a limitation is one of the most con- troversial features of no-fault-insurance plans. A number of lawyers believe it is nnconstitutional, and some plans inchih no such restrictions. Edward W. Kuhn of Memphis, Tenn., a past president of the American Bar Asso- ciation, says that the plans do violence to our traditional and moral belief that the negligent party should compensate tI,' innocent victin of an accident. I lrr's how other states are implement- ing no-fault: FL:ORI)A. All car owners nist carry boidily-injury and p;-uperty-danage insur- ane. Each injured person is protected for int-lica.l expenses and for 85 per cent of lost wages and loss of earuing capacity up to a total of $5,0Ml0, Injured persons may sie to recover their economic losses that exced the plan's hcnicfits, but cannot sue for pain and suff- ering unlcss their medical expenses ex- ceed $1,000, or serious injury of certain specified types is involved. No-fault collision coverage is optional, hut motorists who refuse to boy no-fault cannot collect damages unless they ex- et'ed $550. Premiums for bodily - injury coverage art' redwived 15 per cent by law. I)ELAWARE., H ere, too, compulsory in- surance for bodily injury and property damages is offered on a no-fault basis. Medicl expenses and loss of earnings art, covered up to $1 0,0(W for each person, or $20,000 for all pcrsons in any one acci- dent. Property damages is covered tip to (Continued on Page 3) NUMBER 1

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