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it is apparent that she sustained serious injuries while riding in an Army vehicle and that the evidence clearly establishes that the accident and the resulting injury of Miss Schiek were not caused by any fault or negligence on her part but could only have been caused by the negligence of the driver of the Army truck in which she was riding. It is, therefore, the view of the Department of the Army that Miss Schiek should be compensated in a reasonable amount for the personal injuries sustained by her in this accident and the disabilities and loss of earnings resulting therefrom. The award of $50,000 proposed in this bill appears to be somewhat excessive. Considering all of the facts and circumstances in this case it is believed that an award to the claimant in the amount of $15,000 would constitute a fair and reasonable settlement of her claim. The Department, accordingly, would have no objection to the enactment of this bill if the title and text thereof should be amended to read as follows:

"A BILL For the relief of Mary Thomas Schiek.

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to Mary Thomas Schiek, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the sum of $15,000, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for personal injuries, pain and suffering, permanent disability, and loss of earnings sustained by her and arising out of an accident which occurred in Bengal Province, India, on May 27, 1945, while she was riding in an Army truck, and against all officers, agents, or employees of the United States whose acts or omissions caused or contributed to the personal injuries, pain and suffering, permanent disability, and loss of earnings sustained by the said Mary Thomas Schiek: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000.❞

This claim is not cognizable under the provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act (60 Stat. 843; 28 U. S. C. 931, as revised and codified by the act of June 25, 1948, 62 Stat. 933; 28 U. S. C. 1346 (b)) for the reason that the accident out of which it arises occurred in a foreign country (62 Stat. 984; 28 U. S. C. 2680 (k)). The foregoing report has been submitted to the Bureau of the Budget for approval. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget has advised that the amount of the award of compensation proposed both in the bill and recommended in the foregoing report would seem to be excessive in comparison with amounts awarded in other cases. In the opinion of the Bureau of the Budget, an award of not exceeding $10,000 would be more commensurate with the injuries received and loss of earnings and earning capacity sustained in this case.

Sincerely yours,

GORDON GRAY, Acting Secretary of the Army,

REPORT OF ACCIDENT AND SUBSEQUENT CARE OF MARY THOMAS SCHIEK, AMERICAN RED CROSS

On Sunday afternoon, May 27, 1945, I took 25 or 30 enlisted men on a tour to see a maharajah's palace near Dhudkhundi, Bengal, India. I had painted a poster about it for the Red Cross club, and the boys had signed up to go. We had three vehicles issued to us for the trip, a jeep, a command car and a 22-ton Army truck. I rode in the back of the truck with the boys, taking the cokes and cookies.

After we had visited the palace and taken pictures, we rested from the heat and had the refreshments on the palace grounds. We started home about 3:30 or 4 o'clock. The two cars drove ahead and I rode in the rear of the truck with the men. We were singing and laughing; I remember crossing a culvert as we came toward the place where the road angled sharply to the left. Suddenly I knew that something was going to happen.

The next thing I remember is lying on the ground and hearing the grating sound of sliding gravel. I opened my eyes and the wheels of the truck were just to the left of my body; I could have touched them with my hand. I could not seem to see nor to hear well, only snatches of things.

Then men were standing over me. I couldn't see their faces but I did see the gold flight surgeon's wings and remember thinking that things would be all right. I could hear my boys saying, "Mary is hurt," and, "There's a lady hurt, Doc," and, "Take care of her first.' The doctors gave instructions and I was moved to a litter; I heard him say, "Take the four bad ones in the first ambulance-him, and him and that one-and the girl, she's the worst." The gravel slipped under their feet as they carried me up the incline to the ambulance. The sun was shining but I couldn't seem to see anyone.

I remember the ambulance ride because of the pain. It was severe through my body, but I could not feel nor move my legs My chest felt crushed and it hurt to breathe so I didn't often, until I would begin to slide into the blackness and realize that my body needed more oxygen in the blood and then I'd force myself to take another breath. The boy next to met kept reaching over and patting my shoulder with his hand and saying, "You'll be all right now, honey, because they are taking you to the hospital now." It must be 20 or 30 miles to Kalikhundi from the scene of the accident and the road is very rough The medics who were driving the ambulance kept turning back to talk to me. "Only a little farther now; we're going across the railroad tracks now where the road comes in from Salua." I knew where that was.

Everything seemed black when they took me into the receiving ward. I thought it was night. There were many people; they gave me a shot in the arm, the left one, and that is all I remember until later when they were cutting off my clothes and when they took the X-rays. Then they put me onto a litter and wheeled me to another building. They had one private room; it was small and they couldn't get the litter into the room. A man's voice said, "Give her to me, I can get her It was the ward boy and he carried me in a khaki blanket.

in."

The next few days are blurred. I remember the doctors and nurses and their names, Colonel Baird, Major McDevitt, and the nurses, Conway and Lieutenant Ann Peters, who took care of me during the day. I remember the presents and flowers and the people who came to see me. Some of the enlisted men drove a long way in a hurry to bring me some ice cream. It was very hot on the desert and they were afraid it would melt. I hurt all the time and couldn't see things quite correctly. I would see half of the doctor's face or must his hand, the range seemed very limited. They took my blood pressure very often and gave me intravenous fluid through my left arm. Colonel Baird and Major McDevitt would come in and examine me with a pin over the areas where I said I could not feel. I had extreme pain when I was moved and a continuous pain the rest of the time. When I would ask for something for the pain they would tell me that there was nothing the matter with me and that I did not have pain. I asked why my ribs hurt so that I could not easily move my arms. I kept asking them to explain. Major McDevitt would come in and say that I had had a shock and that it would suddenly disappear and I would be well. I wanted to go back to work and he said I would be well enough to go in about 4 weeks.

Having no sensation, hence no control, I continually wet the bed. This annoyed the nurses because they said there was no excuse for it. I could not move nor roll over when they had to change the sheets and they were very rough in turning me. I remember Lieutenant Cooper, a nurse, who slapped me and shoved me over because she said I refused to turn over as she insisted I could if I wanted to. This went on until the ward boys said, "Mary, if you don't mind, we'll change the the sheets for you and we won't even tell the nurses when you wet the bed if they're going to be so mean." Sergeant Fava was the wardmaster and was very kind and gentle and hurt me less than anyone else when he moved me. He even used to feed me when he could but no one else did and I lost over 30 pounds in 6 weeks. I couldn't move nor bend at the waist, though I tried. When the nurse would bring in the pan of bath water she would put it on the table and depart. When I asked her to help me her reply was, "If you wanted a bath bad enough you could do it yourself," and she would not stay. It was over 100 degrees there in Bengal in June most of the time. They refused to wash my hair, saying, "When you want it washed bad enough so that you'll stand up, then you can wash it in the shower." It was 6 weeks before they would wash it.

Finally I asked them to turn me over so that I could rest my back and try to sleep at night. One night, about 7:30, the pillows shifted so that my hips were twisted into a painful position. I could not move nor turn myself and after I had endured it for about an hour or so, I asked for the nurse. There was only one nurse on duty in the entire hospital at night so that it was some time before she could come. Her name was Lieutenant Ford. By the time she came I was sobbing, but making no noise. As she came to the door, I drew in my breath

She

and it caught in a sob. Without entering the door she said, "Well, that settles it. I wouldn't do anything for a crybaby, and no one else is to either." left and I lay in that position all night.

I kept asking to talk to the doctors. I had so much pain and was getting no better. One day Major McDevitt came in and said, "Well, let's see you walk." I had not had even my head elevated at this time, nor sat up, but he and a nurse forced me into a sitting position. The pain was extreme and I fell back on the bed. "That's the end," said Major McDevitt, "I wouldn't be bothered helping anyone who was such a baby about a little thing like sitting up." And he refused to come to see me for 4 days.

After 4 weeks of this had continued I asked for him again and told him that surely there must be something the matter with me, that people just don't lie helpless and in severe pain when they want to get back to their job, unless something is the matter. He was very cross. "Well, Goddammit, we'll prove it to you. We'll take more X-rays and then you'll see that there is nothing the matter with you except that you are a stubborn baby."

They took more X-rays. They would not help me onto the high X-ray table. Major McDevitt said, "You asked for these X-rays and now, dammit, you can climb on the table yourself." They told me that the X-rays showed nothing and they hoped I was satisfied now.

They insisted that I sit up in a wheel chair. I wanted to try but it was very painful. I used to put my hands on the arm rests and try to keep my body weight from resting over the injured area at the base of my spine. They made me sit up for at least a half hour. I would have the native servants push me to the far end of the porch so that no one would see me cry. One day Major McDevitt caught me; I was trying to write letters but I was crying, too. He was very angry. "If you don't get over this foolishness, we'll send you to the hospital in Calcutta and then you'll be sorry. They wouldn't put up with all this nonsense for a minute. We're sick of it. Why don't you just get up and walk and then we'll let you go back to your job."

Finally, they wanted my room for a nurse who had the hives so they moved me to another building. It was the typical mud walled Indian barracks. A large room, about 75 feet long and it was bare except for three beds. There was no nurse on duty there, nor any attendant and it was beyond calling distance to any other building. Most of the time I was alone, night and day. The building was open, with four doors through which anyone could walk, and did, any time of day or night. There were large toads on the floor and scorpions. Finally they brought me a wheel chair so that I could get to the latrine by using the wheel chair down to the end of the room and holding on to the wall the rest of the way. I still could only walk a few steps alone and could not get up or sit down without great effort. The doctor came to see me only once while I was in that building and then at my request. They refused me medication for pain saying that I couldn't have pain when there was nothing the matter with me.

Finally, they discharged me. Major McDevitt wrote a letter to Red Cross saying that I had only superficial abrasions and that I had shown slow progress because I would not help myself. He said I would be ready for duty in 3 weeks. I returned to my base. I could not walk alone, was still incontinent, and had severe pain. I returned 7 miles to the hospital daily for 1 week for physiotherapy, driving a jeep at Major McDevitt's suggestion. Sometimes someone would drive me; sometimes I drove alone, stopping beside the road when the pain was too great. At the end of the week the treatments stopped.

As a result of Major McDevitt's letter, I was recalled into Red Cross headquarters in Calcutta and sent out on another assignment, on the 7th of August. I continued in the same poor health, could not walk alone and was in pain. Three days after my arrival, in accordance with Red Cross regulations, I had my typhoid booster shot. I was very ill, ran a fever, and was seen by the base medical officer. He said I was too sick to be kept on the base so at 10 o clock at night I was taken by ambulance in to the One Hundred and Forty-second General Hospital in Cal

cutta.

The next morning the fever was gone and I asked to be sent back to my base. The ward officer, Major Wasserman questioned me because I couldn't walk. I told him that I had been told at the first hospital that there was nothing the matter with me and that I wanted to go back to work. "You could walk when you came overseas," he said, "and if you can't now, there must be something the matter, and you'd better stay here until we can find out what it is.'

Many consultations, examinations and X-rays were made. Then they told me I had had mid-lateral ribs broken, lumbar vertebrae four and five broken, my pelvis

had been fractured and that I had a severe fracture of the sacrum that had caused contusions of the spinal cord at the cauda equina. I was told that I would be a long time getting well, and that I would probably never be as well as I had once

been.

One morning Colonel Bangs came to see me and asked about the details of the story. He said, "Are you sure that they said there was nothing the matter with you at that other hospital, or did they just say something like that so that you wouldn't worry?" Then I showed him the letter which Major McDevitt had

written.

He swore and said it was disgraceful and shameful treatment and malpractice. I asked him if he wanted the letter for my chart and he told me I'd better keep it myself and take good care of it. When I asked if he wanted to send for the hospital records from the other hospital so that he could see them he replied that there was no point in seeing records done by people who behaved as they had, and that they certainly would be of no help. He said I must stay in the hospital and see if they couldn't do something to help me.

I was given physiotherapy and sent to a pool in Calcutta to try swimming as they thought water would be good for my legs. I was boarded as an Army patient and sent home, September 27, 1945, on the troop transport U. S. S. General Hase and was admitted as a patient at Halloran General Hospital on Staten Island, N. Y., on October 25, 1945.

At Halloran, doctors reexamined me and confirmed the findings of the Onehundred and forty-second General Hospital and I was given extensive physiotherapy, remedial gym, and occupational therapy. I learned to walk alone with the use of a cane and was discharged November 21, 1946.

NOVEMBER 13, 1946.

Mrs. DEENAH STOLMAN,

Field Director, American Red Cross,

Halloran General Hospital, Staten Island, N. Y.

DEAR MRS. STOLMAN: Following is the information concerning the case of Mary T. Schiek, requested by Miss Smith of your office in our telephone conversation today.

The present diagnosis is:

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"1. Fracture, second sacral segment, severe, incurred May 27, 1945, at Dlundkhi, Bengal, India, when patient was thrown from an army truck.

"2. Paralysis, nerves, cauda equina, S1 to S5, severe, chronic, secondary to No. 1.

3. Patient also had fracture of the transverse processes of L4 and L5 on the left. Also fracture of the inferior ramus of the left pubic bone. These fractures do not present a disability at the present time.'

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An evaluation of her recent clinical course, present disability, prognosis and advised treatment is competently stated in the following note, dated October 21, 1946, by Maj. John J. Lowrey, chief of the neurosurgical service, who has personally followed Miss Schiek's case since her hospitalization here:

"This patient is now 19 months following severe injury with fracture of the transverse processes of L4 and 5 on the left and possible of L1, although the asymmetry of the transverse process at this level may be a congenital abnormality. There was also severe fracture between the first and second sacral segments with acute angulation at this point. Patient is still having severe difficulty with urination in that she has to take considerable time before being able to initiate micturition. She also has sensory loss over the saddle area and has marked difficulty in regulation bowel habits. There is still marked weakness in both legs with instability and limitation of motion of the back, particularly of hyperextension. She also notes that flexing the knees markedly or keeping her legs in one position for any length of time, causes cramps in the legs.

"Physical examination today shows the knee jerks to be equal and active, the ankle jerks are absent. There is a marked sensory loss involving the first; second, third, fourth, and fifth sacral nerves on the left and the same nerves on the right. There is marked atrophy of. the intrinsic muscels of the feet and no demonstrable motor function in the intrinsic muscles of the feet. There is considerable atrophy of the entire feet. She states that she formerly wore a size 61⁄2 AA shoe and now wears a 5% AAAAA shoe. There are slight flexion deformaties of the metacarpal phalangeal and interphalangeal joints of the right foot and to a less degree on the left and the patient is unable to extend these joints voluntarily. They can be extended passibely. Motor function in the

lower legs is fairly good, although there is marked weakness of the medial heads of both gastrocs. There is also marked loss of position sense in the feet.

"Impression: What improvement this patient gets in the future will be very slow and limited. From the amount of improvement that she has shown in the last 6 months, I do not believe she will be able to do any type of work for at least another year and the reason she cannot do this work is because she cannot sit still for any length of time. She has marked difficulty with ambulation. Also the difficulties with controlling her bowels take up considerable time and interfere with her effectiveness. She is also unable to wear regular shoes because the deformities of the toes cause the top of the toes to rub against the top of the shoe. "The only treatment I would recommend is continuation of her present PT and OT. Diagnoses, I believe in this case would be as noted in my previous consultation note of May 7, 1946."

Since this note was written, I have discussed the case with Major Lowrey and Captain Hermann, who heads the physical therapy department, and they agree that although additional improvement should be obtained from physical therapy, this improvement will probably be so slow that further hospitalization is not necessary. These treatments and exercises can be carried out adequately by the patient herself with the assistance of a civilian physiotherapist. She is, therefore, to be discharged from the hospital within the next several weeks and is to continue treatment at home according to instructions from the physical therapy department. My own observations during the past 7 months as this patient's ward officer, coincide closely with those of Major Lowrey and bear out our impression that this is a permanent disability. She is certainly not capable of doing any kind of duty at present time and her activities will necessarily be limited for the rest of her life. If any further information is required I will be happy to supply it.

Sincerely yours,

R. T. F. SCHMIDT,
First Lieutenant, Medical Corps.

SEPTEMBER 30, 1947.

Re Mary Thomas Schiek.

Mr. ROLLIN J. WEBER,

The Travelers, Milwaukee, Wis.

Dear Mr. WeBER: A physical examination was made on Miss Mary Thomas Schiek on September 20, 1947. A copy of the patient's history and clinical record dated November 13, 1946, was reviewed. This letter was addressed to Mrs. Deenah Stolman, field director, American Red Cross, Halloran General Hospital, Staten Island, N. Y., and was written by R. T. F. Schmidt, first lieutenant, Medical Corps. The following physical findings were determined on the above date of examination:

"Sensory examination shows persistent anesthesia in the region of the buttock, pereneal region, and down the posterior aspect of the thighs. There is spotty distribution of the plantar surfaces of the feet and to a lesser extent the posterior aspect of the leg.

"Muscle test: Tests of the voluntary power of the skeletal muscles of the lower extremities revealed slight weakness in the abdominal muscles and hip flexors. There is persistent residual atrophy of the muscles of the legs, particularly the gastroonemius-soleus. Straight leg raising by voluntary effort on the part of the patient produces pain in the lumbar region of the back, and sitting erect in the long-sit position also produces pain in the back. Flexibility of the spine is essentially normal.

"Posture examination: In the sitting position there is a slight left total scoliosis. Standing in the erect position shows a left total scoliosis. The pelvis shifts to the left and the shoulders rotate to the right. The right iliac crest and posteriorsuperior spine are slightly higher than the left. The Romberg sign is positive on prolonged standing.

"Reflexes: The knee jerks are normal and active but the ankle jerks are absent; the Babinski is negative in both sides.

"Questioning the patient reveals the fact that muscular exertion causes rapid fatigue. Repeated muscular contraction causes patient to tire easily and rapidly. Severe muscular exertion causes pain in the region of the back. Patient states, however, that the symptoms are not quite as severe as formerly, and that a gradual and progressive recovery is taking place.

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