Helton v. State Industrial Accident Commission

18 P.2d 831, 142 Or. 49, 1933 Ore. LEXIS 232
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 26, 1933
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 18 P.2d 831 (Helton 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
Helton v. State Industrial Accident Commission, 18 P.2d 831, 142 Or. 49, 1933 Ore. LEXIS 232 (Or. 1933).

Opinion

KELLY, J.

On July 13,1931, the claimant, Donald S. Helton, was injured while working, subject to the Workmen’s Compensation Act, at a planing mill at Union, Oregon. On February 15, 1932, an award was made upon the first rehearing by the commission for temporary total disability at the rate of $49.61 per month for six months and 22 days, amounting to $339.64, which has been paid and a further award was made for permanent partial disability equal to four months payable in a lump sum of $99.17. When payment of this last mentioned award was tendered, it was rejected by claimant.

In his second application to the commission for rehearing, claimant asked for additional compensation for temporary total disability, and alleged that he would suffer permanent partial disability, but made no allegation as to the degree of such permanent partial disability. Following claimant’s second application for rehearing, the commission made and entered an order dated March 30, 1932, affirming its order of February 15, 1932.

*51 Upon appeal to the circuit court from the order of the commission, claimant, in his complaint, among other things, alleges:

“* * * that said claimant has suffered temporary total disability entitling him to payment at the rate of not less than $49.61 per month from the date of said injury until April 14, 1932, and $54.28 per month since said date for not less than 24 months, amounting to not less than $1,240, no part of which sum, except the sum of $339.64 has been paid; that said claimant has sustained permanent partial disability from said injuries arising out of said accident equal to not less than 64 months, and on account of such partial disability is entitled to award of not less than $1,600.00 payable in a lump sum or as provided by law”.

In its brief, the commission says that the circuit court erred in entering a judgment requiring the commission to pay to the claimant compensation for permanent partial disability at the rate of $25 per month for a period of 64 months after December 11, 1935. As a proposition of law, in support of this assignment of error, the commission states:

That “under the Workmen’s Compensation Law, permanent disability, if any, resulting from an accidental injury cannot be determined until the period of temporary total disability, or the healing period has ended. In other words, the amount of permanent disability, if any, suffered by an injured workman cannot be determined until the workman has secured the maximum benefit which can be given him by medical treatment”.

The commission also claims that the circuit court erred in receiving evidence tending to show permanent partial disability. In support of that assignment of error, the commission cites paragraph 2 of section 49-1842, Oregon Code 1930, which is as follows:

*52 “Such application shall set forth in full detail the grounds upon which the claimant considers such order, decision or award is unjust or unlawful, and shall include every issue to be considered by the commission, and it must contain a general statement of the facts upon which the claimant relies in support thereof. The claimant shall be deemed to have waived all objections, irregularities and illegalities concerning the matter upon which such rehearing is sought other than those specifically set forth in such application for rehearing”.

Section 49-1843 (ibid) provides:

“Within thirty days after a copy of the final order of the commission upon such application for rehearing has been mailed claimant, as herein provided, or within thirty days after rehearing is deemed denied under section 49-1842, claimant may appeal to the circuit court for the county in which the accident occurred, but upon such appeal may raise only such issues of law or facts as were properly included in his application for rehearing ’ ’.

In further support of the assignment of error, just mentioned, the commission urges that the allegation as to permanent partial disability contained in claimant’s second application for rehearing raised no issue of fact as it failed to contain “a general statement of the facts upon which the claimant relies in support thereof”; and that inasmuch as no issue of fact thereon was raised in said application for rehearing, the question of the amount of permanent partial disability, if any, could not be properly included in claimant’s appeal to the circuit court.

We are of the opinion that as applied to the facts of this case which disclose only an injury to, or a disease of, the sacro-iliac joint, which is a disease or injury wherein_the extent of its resultant permanent *53 disability, if any, is not immediately patent and obvious, the principle advanced by the commission is salutary, namely, that before the period of temporary total disability or healing period has ended, the extent of the permanent disability is incapable of even reasonably definite ascertainment and that this renders speculative any attempted determination thereof at that time. Such a rule conforms to the first sentence of the last paragraph of section 49-1829, Oregon Code 1930, which is as follows:

“One purpose of this act is to restore the injured person as soon as possible and as nearly as possible to a condition of self-support and maintenance as an able-bodied workman, and final settlement shall not be made in any case until the commission is satisfied that such restoration is probably as complete as it can be made ’

The two cases cited by claimant, wherein the court allowed an award for temporary and also for permanent disability, are cases involving injuries wherein the result was obvious and practically undisputed. One of these cases is Peabody Coal Co. v. Industrial Commission et al., 289 Ill. 449 (124 N. E. 566). There the claimant sustained a compound fracture of the left leg below the knee. We quote from the opinion:

“All three of the physicians were unanimous in their testimony that the defendant in error was then (August 4,1927) totally disabled from doing any work, and that such total disability would continue six months longer, and that after he had made the best possible recovery from his injury, he would for all time thereafter be partially disabled from performing his work at mining to the extent of 25 per cent, and that he would be incapacitated to the same extent from performing any other labor that would require him to stand on and use his lower limbs, because of the loss of the use of his left leg”.

*54 The other of these two cases cited by claimant is Nitram Co. v. Court of Common Pleas, 84 N. J. Law 243 (86 Atl. 435). In that case the ends of the index, middle and ring fingers of defendant’s right hand were crushed and slightly deformed; the end of the index finger of his left hand was crushed leaving a scar, but not interfering with its use; the middle and ring finger of his left hand were so badly crushed that amputation of the first and part of the second phalange of each of these fingers was necessary; and the little finger of the left hand was slightly injured.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Simmons v. Oregon State Industrial Accident Commission
122 P.2d 793 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1942)
Stacey v. State Industrial Accident Commission
26 P.2d 1092 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1933)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
18 P.2d 831, 142 Or. 49, 1933 Ore. LEXIS 232, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/helton-v-state-industrial-accident-commission-or-1933.