Cryder v. State

12 Ill. Ct. Cl. 291, 1942 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 87
CourtCourt of Claims of Illinois
DecidedNovember 10, 1942
DocketNo. 3602
StatusPublished

This text of 12 Ill. Ct. Cl. 291 (Cryder v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Claims of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cryder v. State, 12 Ill. Ct. Cl. 291, 1942 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 87 (Ill. Super. Ct. 1942).

Opinions

FlSHEB, J.

This claim was filed April 5,1941. It is for benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, claimed by claimant for temporary total disability, and for total and permanent disability and for medical bills contracted as a result of an accident. This claim is based on injuries received by claimant, alleged to have arisen out of and in the course of claimant’s employment. This claim was filed for benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Act as the same is applicable to State employees.

The complaint alleges that claimant was an employee of the Division of Highways, employed as a laborer. The complaint further alleges that on the 13th day of September, 1940, while engaged in his employment, claimant was riding in an automobile owned and maintained by the State, and being driven by a fellow employee. That claimant was seated in the front seat of said automobile and, while they were traveling in a southerly direction on a highway known as Bangs Highway within the corporate limits of East St. Louis, their said automobile was struck by another motor vehicle operated by Michael Sinn. That, as a result of said accident, claimant was totally and' permanently disabled, and has been since the date of said accident.

Claimant alleges that compensation payments were made for temporary total disability in the sum of $260.58. That -payments have been made for medical and hospital bills in the sum of $509.80. The report of the Division of Highways shows bills were paid in the sum of $590.80. That claimant has contracted additional hospital and medical bills as a result of the accident in the sum of $698.95.

Claimant alleges that respondent had notice of the accident on the date thereof. That claimant was 70 years of age and had no children under the age of 16 at the date of said accident. That no third party or corporation has any interest in this claim.

The record in this case consists of the complaint, report of the Division of Highways signed by M. K. Lingle, Engineer of Claims, the transcript of evidence, and statement, brief and argument on behalf of claimant and respondent.

As the Division of Highways had knowledge dent on the date on which it occurred, and the complaint was filed on April 5, 1941, the provisions 'of Section 24 of the Workmen’s Compensation Act have been complied with. This court, therefore, has jurisdiction of this claim. It also appears from the evidence, that claimant was injured during the course of and out of his employment, and the court so finds.

The difficulty presented by this case however, is the extent and permanency of claimant’s injuries — what resulted from the accident — what resulted from a coronary thrombosis ■ — and whether the coronary thrombosis was a result of the accident. Claimant was a man 69 years of age at the time the accident occurred and the evidence shows that for a man of his age he was in general good health and was able to perform the duties of his employment which consisted of taking care of the lawn, shrubbery, trees, cutting lawn, watering and general landscape work, including handling wheelbarrows of dirt as occasionally his duties required. He was seriously injured and, on September 25, 1940, a few days after the accident, Dr. Cannady, physician in charge, reported as follows:

“Fracture of left 6th to 10th ribs, inclusive. Internal abdominal injuries. Treatment — absolute rest; immobilization of chest; continuous suction to small bowel.”

On September 30, 1940, Dr. V. P. Siegel, who also attended claimant, reported—

“Fracture of 6th to 10th ribs, inclusive, left side. Pleural effusion. Internal injuries (contusion and slight hemorrhage). Paralytic ileus. Treatment — Mueller Abbott tube; strapped ribs; intravenous therapy.”

Dr. Cannady testified on September 23, 1941, in describing the physical condition of claimant at that time—

“At this time Mr. Cryder has a stiffness and loss of use of his right shoulder,y his right wrist, and some impairment of use of his left wrist; has stiffness of his back; he has a great deal of difficulty in getting about; he becomes short of breath when he moves around; and I can imagine he is very weak.”

In answer to a question as to what effect it would have, considering his age and the fact that he sustained fractures and broken ribs of the number and locality described, the Doctor replied—

“Well, if there- are no complications from it and no displacement, it might have no effect. However, in his case, he developed a pleurisy with it at the time he was in the hospital and a chest film later showed that adhesions had formed in the region of the left diaphragm, which later developed and gave him shortness of breath.”

The Doctor was also asked the following questions, and gave the answers as noted.

Q. What do you say, Doctor, as to whether he is able to do any manual labor of any kind, such as attending garden, shrubbery, trees, being the kind of work that he did prior to the date of his injury, prior to September IS, 1940?
A. It would be impossible for him to do such work.
Q. Do you know of any kind of work that Mr. Cryder can do in his present physical condition?
A. I do not.

The testimony further shows that claimant was confined to the hospital about four weeks after the injury; then was confined to his home, and his condition was gradually showing improvement until February 21, 1941, when he was again taken to the hospital because he had suffered an attack of myocardial infarct, which is a loss of function of part of the myocardium, or heart muscle, due to its loss of blood supply. This usually follows a coronary thrombosis, which is a closing off of one of the arteries of the heart muscle. He was then confined to the' hospital about five weeks and stayed in bed another eight weeks after he returned home, and it was some weeks after that before he was able to walk without assistance. It also appears that on the date of the"hearing, September 23, 1941, he was still in a very weakened condition and was only able to get about by walking very slowly. During the time claimant was confined to the hospital immediately after the accident, for a period of from seven to fourteen days it was necessary to feed him intravenously as they had to insert a Mueller Abbott tube down through his mouth or nose, through his stomach into the intestinal tract. It also appears from the evidence that because of the condition of claimant’s shoulder, arm, wrist, fingers and back, that he is permanently incapacitated from doing any further work, part of which condition was caused by his long confinement in bed. Before the heart attack, claimant complained about the condition of his shoulder and hand, and still showed weakness. From the medical testimony, these conditions would be aggravated in a man of claimant’s age by his long confinement in bed. With reference to claimant’s condition when he went back to the hospital on February 21, 1941, Dr. Cannady was asked—

Q. During that time, Doctor, do you have an opinion as to whether he was still suffering from the alleged injuries that he claims to have sustained on September 13, 1940?

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
12 Ill. Ct. Cl. 291, 1942 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 87, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cryder-v-state-ilclaimsct-1942.