Acme Semi-Anthracite Coal Co. v. Manning

1936 OK 796, 63 P.2d 76, 178 Okla. 420, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 848
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 15, 1936
DocketNo. 27007.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 1936 OK 796 (Acme Semi-Anthracite Coal Co. v. Manning) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Acme Semi-Anthracite Coal Co. v. Manning, 1936 OK 796, 63 P.2d 76, 178 Okla. 420, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 848 (Okla. 1936).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an original proceeding to vacate an award made to Richard Manning, claimant, by the State Industrial Commission for a disability arising under the Workmen’s Compensation Law due to an injury sustained on November 16, 1934, at which time claimant suffered a foot injury.

At the hearing before the commission on the 10th day of January, 1936, the following stipulation and agreement was made:

“It is hereby agreed by and between the respondent, Acme Anthracite Coal Company, and Richard Manning the claimant, that Richard Manning was ■ injured on the 16th day of November, 1934, while in the course of his employment with said coal company, and at the time of his injury he was drawing the sum of $4 per day as wages, and that he was totally disabled from the 16th day of November, 1934, until the 20th day of November, 1935, and that he has been paid compensation at the rate of $10 per week for the time lost.
“It is further stipulated and agreed by and between the parties that the claimant now has a permanent partial disability of 75 per cent, loss to his right foot as a result of the said injury.
“It is further stipulated and agreed that the claimant had worked for said respondent for a period of more than twelve months in the year immediately preceding the date of the injury, and that during said twelve months claimant had earned as wages the sum of $260.21; that claimant had not worked for any other company or firm during said period of time, and that the respondent company had operated its mine during the said twelve months immediately preceding the injury for a term or period of 58 days, and that during the twelve months immediately preceding the injury by claimant he had worked for said respondent for 62 days. That at the time of the injury claimant was doing day work as a rope rider at $4 per day, and that he had worked as a rope rider for a period of 32 days during *421 said twelve months, and that he had worked as a miner for a period of 30 days during said twelve months on tonnage basis and had earned as a miner on tonnage basis the sum of $107.11 during said year and had earned as a rope rider the sum of $123.69 during said year.
“It is further stipulated and agreed that the report of Dr. H. M. Kech, dated December 26, 1935, may be accepted and considered by the commission as medical testimony in this case.
“It is further stipulated and agreed that the agreement of the parties evidenced by this stipulation shall not preclude them from offering further proof when this agreement is submitted to the commission for hearing on other points not covered by this stipulation.
“It is further stipulated and agreed that the mines of the respondent did not operate throughout the entire year and did not operate regularly during the number of days that it did operate, but did operate intermittently throughout the year because of economic conditions.”

In addition to this stipulation it was further agreed that there might be introduced in evidence a certain purported certificate of the days the mine of petitioner operated and the total number of days worked by the respondent; together with the gross earnings of claimant during the period in the sum of $260.21.

Except these stipulations no evidence was introduced before the State Industrial Commission, and on the 14th day of February, 1936, the commission entered its order, which, omitting the formal parts, is as follows:

“That on November 16, 1934, the claimant was in the employment of said respondent and engaged in a hazardous occupation subject to and covered by the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Law, and that on said date sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment, consisting of an injury to the right foot.
“That the average weekly wage of the claimant at the time of said accidental injury was $24.17 per week.
“That claimant sustained a temporary total disability by reason of said accident from November 16, 1934, less the five-day waiting period to November 20, 1935. That as a result of aforementioned accidental injury claimant suffered a partial permanent disability to the right foot resulting in 75 per cent, loss of use of the right foot.
“The commission is of the opinion, upon consideration of the foregoing facts, that claimant is entitled to temporary total compensation at the rate of $16 per week, from November 16, 1984, less the five days to November 20, 1935, being a period of 52 weeks and a total sum of $832, less any amount heretofore paid.
“The commission is of the further opinion, that claimant is entitled to permanent partial compensation for the 75% loss of use of the right foot in the amount of $1,800.”

The petitioner raises but one question, and that is the sufficiency of the evidence to support the amount of the award made by the commission.

It does not appear from the record that there is any competent evidence to sustain the award entered either under subdivisions 1, 2, or 3 of section 13355, O. S. 1931.

Under the stipulation in this case claimant is removed from subdivision 1, since he' did not work substantially the whole of the' year for the same employer or for any other employer. Petitioner states that subdivision' 2 cannot be used in this case until there is some evidence introduced to show the average daily wage or salary which an employee' of the. same class, working substantially the whole of such immediately preceding year in the same or a similar employment, in the same or in a neighboring place, shall have earned in such employment’ during the days when so employed. With this we agree. Petitioner then urges that claimant made only $260; this amount must be presumed fairly to indicate his earning capacity, and that compensation should be computed by dividing this sum by 52 under the provisions of subdivision 4 as a basis of the award. We have held that should not be done. In Skelly Oil Co. v. Ellis, 176 Okla. 569, 56 P. (2d) 891, in the third paragraph of the syllabus we said:

“Where compensation is sought under the Workmen’s.Compensation Law of this state, subdivisions 1, 2, and 3 of section 13355, O. S. 1931, provide exclusive methods for determination of the annual earnings of the employee; when the annual earnings of such employee have been ascertained by one of the three methods provided, then the weekly wage is to be ascertained in the manner as set forth in subdivision 4 of said section 13355, O. S. 1931.”

Since subdivision 1 cannot apply, it is the duty of the commission to direct its attention to subdivision 2 to see if the terms thereof can be fairly and reasonably applied. Its application of subdivision 2 is limited by the terms thereof, and the discretion of the commission will not be disturbed as long as its finding of fact based upon competent evidence is within the terms of that sub *422 division. If subdivision 2 cannot be applied, then the commission should address itself to the provisions of subdivision 3. The provisions of subdivision 3 of section 13355, O. S. 1931, are:

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Bluebook (online)
1936 OK 796, 63 P.2d 76, 178 Okla. 420, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 848, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/acme-semi-anthracite-coal-co-v-manning-okla-1936.