Bankers Investment Co. v. Boyd

1977 OK 29, 560 P.2d 958, 1977 Okla. LEXIS 480
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 22, 1977
Docket48442
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 1977 OK 29 (Bankers Investment Co. v. Boyd) 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
Bankers Investment Co. v. Boyd, 1977 OK 29, 560 P.2d 958, 1977 Okla. LEXIS 480 (Okla. 1977).

Opinion

SIMMS, Justice.

Claimant, Marie A. Boyd, was an office employee of Banker’s Investment Company, whose insurer was St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company. On March 9, 1972, claimant was accidentally injured when she cut her left thumb while inserting a razor blade in a scraper. Medical treatment was provided to claimant and she continued working until May 12, 1972, when she was terminated for inability to carry out her duties.

Medical treatment for left thumb and hand continued, and temporary total compensation was paid for the period of May 15, 1972 to January 7, 1973.

On April 20, 1973, claim was filed seeking compensation for the injury to the left hand and thumb; and also for a second injury received November 7, 1972 as the result of an automobile accident while claimant was a guest passenger traveling to the hospital for treatment of her injured left hand.

When initially presented on October 9, 1973, the trial judge declined to hear both injury claims and the claim for the second injury arising from the automobile accident was withdrawn. Trial was then limited to allowance of additional temporary . total compensation, medical bills, and adjudication of permanent partial disability to the hand.

An order awarded further temporary total compensation from January 7, 1973 to October 1, 1973, and 20% permanent partial disability to the left hand. On en banc appeal, this order was modified by disallowing temporary total compensation beyond January 7, 1973, and affirmed as modified. No appeal was taken and this order became final.

On October 17, 1973, claim was again made for injuries to Marie Boyd’s upper and lower back and chest resulting from the November 7,1972 automobile accident. Although claimant’s employment had been terminated some six months, she was receiving temporary total benefits due to injuries to her left hand at the time of the automobile accident.

Petitioners, hereafter respondents, denied claimant was an employee at time of the auto accident; that auto accident arose out of and in course of employment; and that bodily injury resulted.

Following a March 26, 1974 hearing, an order was entered finding that claimant had suffered compensable injuries to her right hand, arm and shoulder, chest and back, in the wreck. On en banc appeal, this order was vacated and the cause remanded for further proceedings.

After hearing on November 13, 1974, the trial judge made extensive findings of fact concerning the initial injury to the left *960 hand and subsequent award of compensation therefore. The findings then detailed circumstances of second injury in automobile accident, claimant’s injuries, medical complaints, and hospitalization. Upon these findings of fact the court based conclusions of law supporting a 300 week order for temporary total disability from January 7, 1973, including a 58 weeks compensation already accrued.

The trial judge determined the injuries in the automobile accident arose out of and in the course of employment: (1) As the result of an unbroken chain of successive events “touched off” by first injury; (2) Employer had primary duty to provide necessary medical care; (3) Claimant was required to accept treatment or lose benefits; (4) Claimant suffered accidental injury for which respondent was furnishing treatment and paying temporary total compensation; (5) Treatment required claimant’s presence and medical benefits would have been forfeited if treatment was refused, injury occurring while en route for treatment; (6) Injury arose out of employment since claimant was directed to seek treatment from respondent’s physician; (7) Initial injury received in course of employment made treatment necessary and mandatory, and securing treatment was in course of employment while claimant was receiving compensation for disability attributable to first injury.

Respondents urge three propositions of error in seeking vacation of the award. The first asserts the order is void for lack of jurisdiction, since finding the second injury arose out of and in course of employment is contrary to both the law and the evidence.

In support of this proposition, respondent urges that the first prerequisite for recovery of compensation is the existence of master and servant relationship at time of injury. 85 O.S.1971, § 1, et seq. Andrews Mining and Milling Co. v. Rhodes, 192 Okl. 73, 134 P.2d 128. Admittedly, claimant was not an employee on date of second injury. Respondent contends because there was no question of fact as to relationship, trial court should have determined lack of jurisdiction and denied claim as a matter of law, under the rule enunciated in Farmers Gin Co. v. Cooper, 147 Okl. 29, 294 P. 108.

In Farmers Gin Co., supra, claimant received compensable eye injury which required specialist’s treatment. As a paid employee, claimant drove to a neighboring town for treatment, and sustained further injury in an automobile collision. After reviewing decisions from other courts, we held claimant was not entitled to compensation for injuries sustained in the auto accident because the injuries did not arise out of the employment “since such a new and intervening happening as the roadway collision was not a feature or hazard of the employment. There was no causal connection between the work and the accident.”

The issue of whether a second injury arose out of and in course of employment was considered in Governair Corp. v. District Court, etc., Okl., 293 P.2d 918 (1956). An employee sustained severe injury during covered employment and required emergency medical treatment. While traveling toward hospital, company vehicle carrying claimant was involved in collision, resulting in additional injuries, distinct from those sustained during employment. Common law action for damages was brought by claimant, and employer sought to prohibit tort action on ground exclusive jurisdiction was vested in the State Industrial Court.

Prohibition was granted and this Court held claimant’s common law action had been abrogated and abolished by Oklahoma’s Workmen’s Compensation Act. Governair, supra, discussed Cooper, supra, and recognized requirement in R. J. Allison, Inc. v. Boling, 192 Okl. 213, 134 P.2d 980, 982, that:

“ * * * act being performed by the workman at the time of his injury must be part of the duty he was employed to perform or must be reasonably incidental thereto * * *.”

Noting the first injury arose out of and in course of employment, the opinion in Governair declared what followed was a direct and immediate result of the initial *961 injury which causes shock and unconsciousness. Therein we stated:

“It is made the duty of the employer under provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Law, 85 O.S.1951, § 14, to provide medical treatment promptly to an injured employee, and, in assisting Morris to the truck and furnishing transportation to the doctor or hospital, as it was alleged, the foreman was doing no more than attempting to fulfill that duty of the employer.

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Bluebook (online)
1977 OK 29, 560 P.2d 958, 1977 Okla. LEXIS 480, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bankers-investment-co-v-boyd-okla-1977.