Claim of O'Esau v. E. W. Bliss Co.

188 A.D. 385, 177 N.Y.S. 203
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided June 30, 1919·Published·Cited by 24 cases

Opinion

Woodward, J.:

The only question necessary to be considered here is whether the failure of the claimant to file a claim within the period of one year from the time of the accident may be disregarded upon the theory that the employer, by continuing the employee in its service, worked an estoppel. On the - 15th of November, 1917, the State Industrial Commission made an award to John M. O’Esau, holding that the employer and insurance carrier were estopped to urge the provisions of section 28 of the Workmen’s Compensation Law. (O’Esau v. Bliss Co., 14 State Dept. Rep. 696.) From this award an appeal was taken to this court, and at the March term in the year 1918 (not reported) it was urged that a certain letter, dated October 22, 1916, operated as a claim under the act. The case was sent back to the Commission to make such findings as it should find proper, and it was then held that the letter in question constituted a claim, and an award was made. A further [387]*387appeal from an order of this court confirming .the award resulted in a dismissal of the appeal, on the ground that it was not properly before the Court of Appeals, with a distinct suggestion that the letter in question did not constitute a claim within the meaning of the statute. (See 15 State Dept. Rep. 665; 185 App. Div. 900; 224 N. Y. 701.) The case was then reconsidered by the State Industrial Commission (19 State Dept. Rep. 444), which made findings of fact in which, after pointing out the manner and extent of the injury, it was found that FTj

“ 2. * * * Said injuries soon incapacitated him from doing his former work but his employer retained him in the capacity of foreman, or overseer, and at the rate of wages earned prior to said accident. He was kept at work by his employer from the date of said accident to April 30, 1917, on which latter date he was discharged. From the date of said accident to April 30, 1917, during which time his employer retained him in a supervisory capacity, John M. O’Esau lost but three weeks on account of said injuries, and from the date of said accident to June 16, 1916, his employer furnished him with medical attention at the clinic located at the employer’s plant.

If he had not been retained by his employer as a foreman, or overseer, he would have been disabled from working from practically the date of said accident to November 15, 1917. Having been discharged by his employer on April 30, 1917, so far as a loss of wages is concerned, he was actually disabled from April 30, 1917, to March 21, 1918, the date of his death.

3. John M. O’Esau filed with this Commission a claim for compensation on June 6, 1917, which was more than one year after the date of the actual injury received, but less than one year from the date of actual disability.

4. The conduct of the employer, in view of all the circumstances, and particularly in keeping the claimant employed up to April 30, 1917, for a period of more than a year after the date of said accident, at a rate of wages equal to the wages earned prior to said accident, and in furnishing medical attention for the period required by the Compensation Law, directly induced the claimant to delay in filing [388]*388a claim for compensation until after the expiration of the statutory period, as set forth in section 28 of the Compensation Law.”

Upon these findings of fact the Commission decided that the “ employer and insurance carrier are alike estopped to plead the Statute of Limitations in respect to the failure of the claimant to file his claim within one year after the injury, since, by the conduct of the employer, whether fraudulent or not, it has directly induced the plaintiff to delay in filing his claim for compensation with the Commission until after the expiration of one year from the date of said accident.”

Section 18 of the Workmen’s Compensation Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 67; Laws of 1914, chap. 41)

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Claim of O'Esau v. E. W. Bliss Co., 188 A.D. 385, 177 N.Y.S. 203 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1919).

188 A.D. 385 (Claim of O'Esau v. E. W. Bliss Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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