Bos v. State Industrial Accident Commission

315 P.2d 172, 211 Or. 138, 1957 Ore. LEXIS 329
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 6, 1957
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 315 P.2d 172 (Bos v. State Industrial Accident Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bos v. State Industrial Accident Commission, 315 P.2d 172, 211 Or. 138, 1957 Ore. LEXIS 329 (Or. 1957).

Opinions

BRAND, J.

This is an appeal by the plaintiff, Donald Bos, from a judgment for the defendant State Industrial Accident Commission in an action brought under the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Law. The plaintiff was injured in September 1953 while in the employ of Rueben G. Lenske. He thereafter filed a claim for workmen’s compensation with the Commission. The claim was denied by an order of 25 January 1955 for the reason, as stated by the Commission, that “the claimant Donald Bos, was not injured by accident arising out of and in the course of employment while employed subject to the Workmen’s Compensation Law; * * He filed a petition for [140]*140rehearing which was denied by order of 15 March 1955. Plaintiff then brought action in the circuit court which resulted in the judgment from which he appeals. By stipulation the case was tried by the court without a jury. After the taking of evidence both parties submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The plaintiff filed objections to the proposed findings and conclusions tendered by the defendant. The court overruled the objections and made the findings and conclusions as presented by the defendant. Judgment went accordingly for the defendant Commission. We find it unnecessary to review the pleadings in detail. It was stipulated that at the time of the accident the plaintiff was employed by Mr. Lenske. It is also stipulated that he was injured, and that at the time of the injury he was on duty in the course of Ms employment. He was being paid by Mr. Lenske at the time of the injury. At the beginning of the trial the following colloquy took place between the court and counsel:

“THE COURT: All right. That would seem to reduce the question to just one, and that is was Mr. Lenske at this particular time covered by the ' State for the purposes of an employee such as this plaintiff was? Isn’t that the only problem we have?
“MR. FRANKLIN: I think that is the only problem.
“MR. GrILLARD: That is agreed, your Honor.”

The trial court made the following findings of fact:

“I.
“That on or about the 23rd day of September, 1953, the plaintiff, Donald Bos, while employed by Rueben G-. Lenske, sustained a personal injury by accident wMle he was being transported from farm work in wMch he was engaged, the said truck [141]*141being driven and operated by a Mr. Clarence Wicks, also in the employ of said Rneben G-. Lenske, and at the time of said accident said Donald Bos was being paid by said Rueben Gr. Lenske, not only for the farm work involved, bnt also for the time consumed in transportation to and from said farm work.
“11.
“The Court further finds that plaintiff’s employer, Mr. Lenske, was engaged in two separate occupations. One was the repair and alteration of property and buildings, which was a hazardous occupation under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, and for which he and his employer were covered by the Act. The second was farming. The Court further finds that the plaintiff was engaged in both of his employer’s occupations; that 95% of his time he was engaged in the employer’s hazardous occupation, while 5% of his time he was engaged in farming operations for his employer.
“The Court further finds that at the time of the accident in question the plaintiff was being returned by automobile from engaging in the farming occupation of his employer and that the transportation was incident to the farming operation and not incident to the hazardous occupation in which the employer was engaged. The Court further finds that the employer had made no application for elective farm coverage as provided by the Workmen’s Compensation Law of the State of Oregon, and in particular ORS 656.090.”

The conclusion of law was to the effect that the plaintiff’s injuries were suffered at a time when he was not covered by the Workmen’s Compensation Law.

Plaintiff had been in the employ of Mr. Lenske for about three months and was paid by the hour. As found by the trial court the great bulk of his work for Lenske was in a hazardous employment. [142]*142Lenske requested Hathaway and Wicks to find work for plaintiff. He did painting and wood work under Hathaway on a place owned by Lenske. That job took two weeks. Under Wicks’ direction he worked at Bell Station on roof repair. He also helped to place tile on the house roof and stacked lumber for about two weeks. He also did repair work on Lenske’s house occupied by Wicks. The only evidence concerning farm work done by plaintiff was assisting in raising bailed hay to the loft of a barn at the Wicks place, cleaning out some cow troughs and working on an irrigation ditch. A farm at Park Place was owned by Lenske and others and was rented to one Vilstrup. Lenske had some of his cattle on that place and Wicks took plaintiff to the place to assist in storing Lenske’s bailed hay in the barn. They left Wicks’ place at one p.m., worked on the hay, and started on the return trip. Plaintiff was in a pickup truck driven by Wicks, a representative of Lenske. The truck overturned at 4:40 of that afternoon and plaintiff suffered serious injury. Lenske was under the Workmen’s Compensation Act as to his hazardous occupations, which he had listed as “painting and structural repair work; also miscellaneous.” He had not elected to come under the act as to any separate occupation of farming.

The only assignment of error is stated as follows:

“The Court erred in finding that at the time of the accident appellant and his employer were not covered by the Workmen’s Compensation Act of the State of Oregon.”

Under this state of the record, in so far as the “findings of fact” are supported by substantial evidence, we are bound by them. This is peculiarly true of the finding “that 95% of his [plaintiff’s] time he [143]*143was engaged in the employer’s hazardous occupation, while 5% of his time he was engaged in farming operations for his employer.” The abstract discloses that the foregoing finding as adopted by the court was submitted by the defendant, and a similar finding was submitted by the plaintiff.

We hold that the court did not err in holding that Lenske, the employer, was engaged in two separate occupations, one hazardous and the other, farming. The two were located at different places and were different in character. The work in storing hay at the Wicks place came within the definition of farming, as defined in ORS 656.090(2). The question for decision is whether a workman who is employed in a hazardous employment in which 95 per cent of his labor is expended is entitled to the benefits of the Workmen’s Compensation Act when he is injured while being transported from and after performing incidental labor in his master’s separate occupation of farming, it being clear that at the time of injury he was on duty in the course of his employment and was being paid while being so transported. While it might well be argued that his transportation from the farm was as incidental to his hazardous employment as to the brief nonhazardous employment, we shall accept the finding of the trial court on that issue.

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Bos v. State Industrial Accident Commission
315 P.2d 172 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1957)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
315 P.2d 172, 211 Or. 138, 1957 Ore. LEXIS 329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bos-v-state-industrial-accident-commission-or-1957.