Nation: Less Immune

New law for the diplomatic set

In April 1974 the Panamanian cultural attaché ran a red light in Washington and plowed into another car, permanently paralyzing one of its passengers, Dr. Halla Brown, 66. After 19 months of hospitalization and round-the-clock nursing care at home, her medical bills have exceeded $300,000, but she could never collect a dime from the attaché. Two years later, a car driven by a Senegalese embassy chauffeur struck and killed a 19-year-old road worker in suburban Virginia. The embassy carried no liability insurance on the car, and the...