The Michigan Daily-Thursday, August 14, 1980-Page 9 ~Wife can sue, bar for spouse 10 inur LANSING (UPI)-A woman whose husband fell and hurt himself ina bar scuffle has a right to sue the establishment for giving him too much to drink, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. The decision overturned a Houghton County Circuit Court ruling dismissing the women's claim that she suffered loss of support, marital relations, and other damages because of her husband's injuries. THE CLAIM, ONE count of a suit against the bar, charged the husband hurt himself when he stumbled and fell after being pushed by another bar patron. The state's Dramshop Act allows persons injured by drunks to sue any bar which served them after they were visibily intoxicated. The appeals court, in reinstating the suit, said a requirement that the intoxicated person be named in such suits does not apply when it is impossible to do so. "IN THE PRESENT case the woman could not retain her husband as a party defendant because there is no precedent for allowing a suit by a wife against her husband, where the parties' marriage is intact, for damages arising out of the husband's negligent infliction of injury upon himself," the court said. "Accordingly, we hold that under the circumstan- ces of this case a wife may maintain a cause of action pursuant to the dramshop act without naming her husband as a party defendant." In another case, the court ruled a man cannot be ruled ineligible for workers' compensation benefits merely because he incorrectly told his employer when applying for a job that he had no history of back trouble. The appeals court said in the Jackson County case the employee's minor misstatement did not justify denial of benefits when he was not required to un- dergo a physical exam and was later rehired after having a physical. U.S. public 'overkilled'? (Continued from Page 3) "THE NETWORK commentators drag out interviews and engage in aimless chit-chat with politicians when the time could be used more effectively discussing the party's visions of America, world politics, and human nature," he said. Schwartz said the networks should reduce coverage by showing hour-long wrap-ups at the end of the evening with occasional cut-ins to newsworthy even- ts such as the rules fight on the open convention. "Then the networks could reallocate money to respectable shows like ABC's 20/20 or (CBS's) 60 minutes to enhance their appeal," he said. "THE MONEY that goes to waste really bothers me," said the ABC spokeswoman. "I wouldn't be surprised to see the networks rotate convention coverage in the future." Other network officials, however, said this possibility was highly unlikely. A consequence of such extensive media coverage, according to Schwar- tz, is that television ceases its role as a reporter and instead becomes an in- fluential actor. "The networks allowed the Ford- Reagan story to run away with them at the Republican convention," he said. "They were pushing and jumping at the story and influenced the way the decision was made by putting undue pressure on Reagan to make a quick decision." NBC Director of -Political News Coverage Al Chambers defended the networks' coverage . of the Ford/Reagan deal. While he admitted that CBS and ABC may have gone overboard by suggesting that a deal between Reagan and Ford had been made, he said television reports on a minute-by-minute basis and has to rely on what its sources state. "There exists, because of all the pressures involved, a greater chance for error," Chambers said. "You must also remember that Ford said on the air that a deal was in the works. It had the possibility of panning out." SHORT or LONG Hairstyles for Men and Women DASCOLA STYLISTS " 615 E. Liberty-668-9329 " 3739 Washtenow-971-9975 " 613 N. Maple-761-2733 0 611 E. University-662-0354 I Mud wrestling Nightclub owners following the trend of giving patrons more for their money than just a drink have added women mud- wrestlers to their nightly entertainment packages. Wearing bikinis, the women at this Los Angeles bar climb into the mud pit and go at each other as customers look on- PROSECUTOR CLAIMS ME RCY KILLING INTENTIONAL: Nurses plea innocent NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) - Three nurses pleaded innocent yester-. day to charges-of murdering a 51-year- old woman cancer patient who a prosecutor says was "intentionally killed in the hospital" by a drug over- dose. Ann Capute, a 42-year-old licensed practical nurse from Plympton, and registered nurses Nancy Robbins, 26, of Taunton, and Judith Foley, 26, of Fox- boro, entered the pleas to charges of murder and distributing and ad- ministering a controlled substance, morphine sulphate. Each was released on $5,000 personal recognizance. A pretrial hearing was set for Sept. 5. The charges stem from the May 18 death of Norma Leanues, a Taunton woman who died at Morton Hospital following surgery for a cancerous tumor on her spine. District Attorney Ronald Pina said the three were charged with ad- ministering a drug overdose to Leanues. "The instrument of death was mor- phine sulphate," he said. Pina declined to describe the death as a mercy killing. "Looking at it very basically, it is a homicide," he said. "It's the conclusion of the grand jury that the woman was. intentionally killed in the hospital." The county grand jury handed down the indictments following an in- vestigation that began June 17. The in- vestigation was interrupted last month when Pina went to court to obtain the testimone of Maureen Costello, a hospital administrator who conducted an internal investigation into Leanues' death. Published excerpts from that in- vestigation included statements by an unnamed nurse who said she injected Leanues with enough morphine "to kill an elephant." But the nurse said she was not trying to kill the woman, just ease her suf- fering. Edward Dangel, a Boston attorney representing Foley, said he would seek a change of venue in the trial, citing ex- tensive pretrial publicity. "I'm very surprised by the severity of the charges," he said. "My client is a widow with a nine-year-old son. This is a great tragedy in her life."