A settlement was made with the dependents in 36 per cent of all the cases, and in 42 per cent of those in which the decedent left a widow. In practically all of these cases an amicable settlement was made with the representative of the deceased, appointed by the probate court, either out of court in the first instance or after the institution of a suit. § 42. Average amount received in settlement in Ohio under old system.-An examination of 285 fatal cases proved that the average amount paid per case was $838.61. In 176 of these cases the decedent left a widow, and the average settlement was $1,056. The exact figures are given in the following table: TABLE SHOWING AVERAGE AMOUNT RECEIVED IN DEATH CASES. Civil status of decedent. Married Single Total The amount received varied from funeral expenses to $5,000. In the case of the dependents of 109 single workingmen killed, the average amount received was $485.87. TABLE SHOWING AVERAGE AMOUNT OF SETTLEMENT OF FATAL CASES WITHIN SPECIFIED LIMITS, AS DISCLOSED BY COURT RECORDS. $1,000 and over--Common pleas court____. United States circuit court___ First. That the total amount of compensation received by the dependents of 313 workingmen out of a total number of 370 killed (or 87.86 per cent) of those receiving settlement is $165,905.35, which is only 47.81 per cent of the total amount, $351,200.35, paid to the dependents of the 370 workingmen killed; that the total amount of compensation received by the dependents of 57 of these 370 workingmen killed (or 12.14 per cent of those receiving settlement) is $183,295, which is 52.19 per cent of the total amount paid the dependents of the 370 workers. Second. That on the average in Ohio, taking the best 15 cases out of the 370 families left dependent by death of the breadwinners, receive on the average $4,991.66. Deducting now (see next section) 25 per cent for attorney fees and $300 for doctors' bills, funeral expenses, and interest due to delays in making settlements (assuming that the largest damages are paid to the earners of the largest wages), we have $3,443.75 as the maximum compensation paid under the present system on an average for each of the best 4 cases out of 100 families left dependent when the head of the family is killed in industrial employment. The obligatory industrial insurance act passed by both houses of the Legislature of Ohio in May, 1911, provides a maximum of $3,400 and a minimum of $1,500, and doctors' bills and hospital expenses not to exceed $200 in all cases. § 43. Attorney fees under old system in Ohio.-It was intended to give in the following table an accurate idea of what per cent. of the amount of settlement is retained by the plaintiff's attorney as remuneration for his services. Specific amounts were ascertained in so few cases however that the table as given will be misleading unless taken with a few grains of allowance. The great majority of the cases included in it were settled either out of court or before going to trial. The aver Court. age for these cases is shown to be about 24 per cent. and this includes both fatal and non-fatal cases. The table shows that approximately one-fourth of the amount received was paid out as plaintiffs' attorney fees and as court costs. TABLE SHOWING ATTORNEY FEES UNDER OLD SYSTEM IN OHIO. Common pleas Total amount of § 44. Social and economic results of accidents.-An individual investigation to determine the social and economic conditions of families deprived by industry of their breadwinners was made in 86 cases. The results, as compiled in the following table, show that nearly 56 per cent. of the widows were compelled to go to work, and at an average weekly wage of $5.51. Altogether in these homes there were 178 children, about 70 per cent. of whom were under twelve years; 59 per cent. of the others were forced to go to work. The wretched condition in which some of these families were found can not be depicted by means of tables. TABLE SHOWING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF WIDOWS AND CHILDREN. Per cent. Fifty-six per cent. of the widows visited and 18 per cent. of the children were forced to go to work to earn a livelihood as a result of the industrial accidents. § 45. Liability insurance statistics in Ohio.-In making settlements of 65,800 accidents covering a period of about eight years, in Cleveland, Ohio, the Aetna Liability Insurance Co. made payments of any kind in only 6 per cent. of the cases.10 § 46. German statistics analyzed.-In 1887 there were insured in Germany 3,861,560 workingmen among 319,453 establishments, and the number of notices of accidents was 106,001. The German analysis of the 15,970 accidents which incapacitated workmen for more than 13 weeks shows: That 19.76 per cent. of the 15,970 or 3,156 injuries, were attributable to the fault of the employers. That 25.64 per cent. of the 15,970, or 4,094 injuries, were attributable to the fault of the injured. That 54.60 per cent. of the 15,970, or 8,720 injuries, were attributable to the combined fault of the injured and employer, and inevitable risk when at work.11 Thus 80.24 per cent. of 15,970, or 12,814 injuries were attributable to the fault of the employé and the inherent dangers of the industry. Now, 18.51 per cent. of these 12,814 were killed, 2,372; 17.70 per cent. of these 12,814 were totally disabled, 10 See Report of Ohio Employers' Liability Commission, Pt. II, p. 208. 11 Fourth Special Report of the Commission of Labor, 1893, p. 83. See also Table following page. |