This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

A car driven by Mary Heym in which her daughter, Marilyn Heym, was a passenger collided with a car driven by Ronald Glasser, an employee of the Department of the Army. Marilyn was grievously injured. Frankel (P), Marilyn’s guardian, and Mary, Marilyn’s mother, sued the United States (D) in negligence under the Federal Torts Claims Act. D filed an answer in which it denied liability and set up contributory negligence as a defense. D filed a counterclaim against Mary for damages to its car. Marilyn sought damages for lost earnings, personal injuries, and medical expenses. Marilyn, was 19 years of age, had completed two years of a four-year course in commercial art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and intended and was expected to continue to graduation, after which she intended to enter upon a career as a commercial artist. She did generally well in school and excelled in art. Before the accident, she was normal, accident-free and in good health, and enjoyed the usual activities of persons in her social and economic situation, including membership in the Girl Scouts, 4-H activities and the like. She was an accomplished and a well-known rider of horses, and an instructress in all phases of horsemanship. She was slender, five feet nine inches tall, and weighed one hundred and thirty pounds. P argued in part that future institutional care should reflect inflation and should not be reduced to its present worth. D argued that the award for future institutional care should not be a lump sum, but rather should create a trust fund from which disbursements would be made. D argued that this award should be reduced to its present worth.

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