Baker v. Industrial Commission

142 N.E. 184, 310 Ill. 550
Illinois Supreme Court·Decided December 19, 1923·No. No. 15548·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Mr. Justice Carter

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant in error was injured on January 14, 1920, while in the employ of plaintiff in error in its plant in St. Clair county, by being struck on the head by a piece of iron or rock which it is alleged in the application fell from a chain conveyor running overhead across the bin where he was working. The arbitrator found in favor of the applicant and the Industrial Commission set aside such award. The circuit court set aside the order of the Industrial Commission and made the order of the arbitrator final, and the case is now brought here by plaintiff in error for further review.

It is not admitted that the accident arose out of and in the course of the employment. There is a dispute in the testimony as to whether the evidence showed that the injury was the result of an accident, and in this connection there is a claim that the evidence does not show that the injury was directly the result of Baker’s employment but that it occurred as the result of an assault by a third person.

The conditions surrounding the defendant in error’s work were substantially as follows: The building where he worked was about 400 by 90 feet and contained ten bins on one side, over which a chain-drag ran ten feet from the floor, carrying cotton seed hulls, which were deposited in the bins, from which a conveyor conveyed the hulls into the mill. Defendant in error was in bin No. 3, and it was his duty to feed the hulls into the conveyor. Under the continuous chain-drag there was a V-shaped trough, which, it is contended on behalf of plaintiff in error, prevented pieces of rock or coal from falling into the bin. The defendant in error, however, testified that the chain-drag carried a rock in it to make it heavy, and that he was struck by such rock falling on his head when he was bending over, using his fork. According to certain testimony offered on behalf of plaintiff in error, the applicant, after the injury, stated that he thought he had been struck by some person, sometimes saying it was by Tag Hopkins and sometimes that it was by Jimmie Hopkins, a brother of Tag. One of the witnesses testified to overhearing a conversation in the toilet of the plant between defendant in error and Jimmie Hopkins in which he heard Hopkins say to defendant in error: “You go ahead; I will get you; I will sure get you.” The evidence shows that Tag Hopkins was not present at the plant on the day of the accident, or at least at the time of the injury, and it also appears that he was arrested at the instigation of plaintiff in error but was apparently discharged on the trial. The evidence also discloses that no rock or other article was found in the bin where defendant in error worked, but that there was found near the doorway of the bin, some five feet distant from where he was working, a bolt with a small amount of fresh blood on it. The defendant in error was apparently knocked unconscious at the time of the injury and was first taken to his boarding place and afterwards to the hospital, where he remained until about March 1, following. The physician for plaintiff in error testified that he had examined the defendant in error, previous to the time of the injury, for a syphilitic condition, although it is not shown that this condition had anything to do with the injury or its resulting effect. At the time of the injury the physician found a compound fracture of the skull, with pressure symptoms developing and the pulse getting worse, and he testified that he trephined the skull, after which the pressure symptoms continued but the pulse improved. The patient developed severe spasms, for which he was treated, and there was a left-side paralysis which continued for some time, and while the witness testified that the applicant was rational when he talked with him at his office and witness did not think he was suffering from mental trouble, he also stated that he did not think he would improve over the condition as it existed at the time of the hearing. The defendant in error testified that at the time of the hearing he suffered pain; that his sleeping was affected; that he had fits or spells, when he would fall down, and his memory and mind had been affected; that since the time of the injury he had for a time washed dishes in a restaurant but had to quit on account of his head.

The arbitrator found that defendant in error was employed by plaintiff in error and that the work was carried on under the Workmen’s Compensation act; that defendant in error sustained the injury complained of, which arose out of and in the course of the employment; that his annual earnings were $1350 for the preceding year, or an average weekly wage of $25.96; that first aid, medical, surgical and hospital services had been furnished; that the applicant was entitled to receive $12 per week for 291 weeks and $8 for one week, as provided in paragraph (/) of section 8 of the act as amended, for the reason that the injuries sustained resulted in complete disability, rendering him wholly and permanently incapable of work, and thereafter a pension for life of $320 per annum, payable $23% per month; that at the date of the decision the applicant was entitled to receive $720 compensation accrued from January 15, 1920, to date of hearing.

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Baker v. Industrial Commission, 142 N.E. 184, 310 Ill. 550 (Ill. 1923).

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