Diamelio v. Royal Castle

148 So. 2d 8
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedOctober 24, 1962
DocketNo. 31738
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 148 So. 2d 8 (Diamelio v. Royal Castle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Diamelio v. Royal Castle, 148 So. 2d 8 (Fla. 1962).

Opinion

TERRELL, Justice.

Prior to February 20, 1960, Felice Dia-melio, petitioner, was employed for two and one-half years by Royal Castle Restaurant. He was a counterman and went to work on the last named day at 7:00 A.M. Generally he was relieved at 11:00 A.M., but on the day in question the relief man was unable to be on hand. It was Saturday and a busier day than usual. Petitioner worked at a grill cooking hamburgers, eggs and other delicacies most of the day. About 4:00 P.M. he began to feel “something funny” and “sweating and feeling cold.” He asked the manager to take over for him on the grill. He went to the rear of the restaurant, sat for a while, took a bowl of soup, and feeling better, returned to the grill and resumed his work.

After working for another hour or so, he began to feel ill again and asked for relief at the grill. His quitting time was 5 :00 P.M., but he left the restaurant about 5 :20 P.M. and went home. While he was sitting at home about one hour later, he was attacked by what was called an epileptic [9]*9seizure. He was hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was visited by Dr. Michael M. Gilbert and it was determined that he had a history of epilepsy for eight or nine years. The hospital records show that on the date in question petitioner was “in good health until tonight * * * headache late this P.M. Complained of chills with supper then had ‘grandmal seizure.’ ” While in the hospital and on bed rest, the resident physicians observed two more grandmal seizures by the claimant.

Claim was filed for compensation benefits and a hearing was held by the deputy commissioner of the Florida Industrial Commission, after which the deputy commissioner entered an order holding that the claimant had “suffered an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment on February 20, 1960,” and ordered payment of compensation benefits, expert witness fees and attorneys fees to claimant’s counsel. On review by the full commission the order of the deputy commissioner was reversed on the ground that “in the instant cause there has been no showing whatsoever that the claimant sustained an injury by accident which arose out of and in the course of his employment.”

There was a motion to dismiss because the Florida Industrial Commission was not made a party defendant but a motion to amend by adding the Florida Industrial Commission as a party defendant was seasonably made and should have been granted. At any rate, it may have been said to have cured the error.

We are importuned by certiorari to review and reverse the order of the full commission.

The sole question for determination is whether the finding of the deputy commissioner that the employee suffered an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment was supported by competent and substantial evidence.

The evidence on the point consists of that of the petitioner and Dr. Michael Gilbert. It is short and the pertinent part will be' quoted. The petitioner whose evidence is unrebutted testified as follows:

“A. I had a grill full of hamburgers and I felt something funny and I fell off.
“Q. Did you feel anything unusual?
“A. Yes, sir. I started sweating and feeling cold and the heat got me.
“Q. Do you not usually sweat fixing hamburgers ?
“A. Not like that day.
“Q. You said you felt cold?
“A. Yes, sir. I was wringing wet and I was cold and warm.
“Q. Did you ask to go home or anything at that time?
“A. I asked for the manager. He come over and I says, ‘You better take over.’
“I says, T feel very sick.’
“He says, ‘What is the matter?’ and I said, T don’t know.’
“So, he took over, because he is a good grill man, also.
“Q. Let me clear up one thing. Ordinarily, there is a third man coming in at 11:00 o’clock that takes over?
“A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Do you remember what happened?
“A. This man couldn’t hold it up.
“Q. Did he try to hold it up ? Did he do some work?
“A. No, sir.” (Tr. 9, 10)

Petitioner further testified:

“Q. What does it feel like over this grill, Mr. Diamelio?
“A. It feels like you have got fire under you. It is on all day,, over the stoop and grill.
[10]*10“Q. Was it light or heavy that day ?
“A. That day is the busiest of the week.” (Tr. 31)

Dr. Gilbert was the only doctor who testified and his testimony was based on reasonable medical probability and is as follows :

“Q. (By Mr. Rappaport) Is there a relationship between this history that this man gave you of exhaustion and working over a hot grill and the occurrence of this seizure ?
“A. It is generally accepted medically that overexertion and fatigue can precipitate an epileptic seizure.
“Q. Is it your opinion, Doctor, within reasonable medical probability that if this man had never before felt these type of pains or exhaustions during the course of his employment on a grill where he had been unrelieved, except for the time that he felt ill, that there could be a direct relationship between this feeling of hot and cold chills and vertigo from fatigue, as he stated, and the resulting seizure?
“A. Well, yes, I think that the state he was in precipitated that particular seizure.” (Tr. 44)

Such was the principal testimony on which the deputy commissioner based his judgment that the claimant suffered an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, for which he awarded compensation as heretofore stated.

In Alexander Orr, Jr., Inc. v. Florida Industrial Commission, 1937, 129 Fla. 369, 176 So. 172, 173, in holding that a sunstroke was compensable as an injury by accident, this court adopted the following rule:

‘If the heat exhaustion arose out of the employment, as well as in its course, we think it is clear that any harmful effect upon the physical structure of the body of the employee, which was a proximate result of it, is an accident under our statute. * * * In connection with the sort of accident here involved, the principle to which most authorities give assent is that the harmful condition does arise out of the employment, if, in the performance of the duties for which he was engaged, in the manner required or contemplated by the employer, it is necessary for the employee to expose himself to a danger, materially in excess of that to which people commonly in that locality are exposed, when not situated as he is when thus performing his service, and that such excessive exposure may be found to have been the direct cause of the injury, though operating upon other conditions of common exposure. * *
‘That principle has been specifically thus applied to sunstroke or heat prostration or heat exhaustion in many varying conditions.

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Bluebook (online)
148 So. 2d 8, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/diamelio-v-royal-castle-fla-1962.