Huddleston v. Commonwealth Mining Corp.

1929 OK 409, 281 P. 269, 139 Okla. 79, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 226
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 8, 1929
Docket19241
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1929 OK 409 (Huddleston v. Commonwealth Mining Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Huddleston v. Commonwealth Mining Corp., 1929 OK 409, 281 P. 269, 139 Okla. 79, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 226 (Okla. 1929).

Opinion

ANDREWS, J.

This is an original proceeding to review the action of the State Industrial Commission' in refusing to reopen cause and grant further 'compensation to Ered Huddleston, claimant''herein.

The record in this case shows that claimant, while in the employ of Commonwealth Mining Corporation, respondent herein, on the 1st day of September, 1926, an¡d in the course of his employment, strained bis back. His explanation thereof was: “I was lifting on the machine, lifting it up, and it gave my back an awful jerk.” Notice was given the State Industrial Commission on the prescribed form. On September 25, 1926, claimant and respondent entered into a stipulation and receipt on the form prescribed-for that purpose, and the same was, on September 28, 1926, filed with the State Indus *80 trial Commission. That stipulation provided that the injury occurred on September 1, 1926, and that disability ended on September 30, 1926. There is no controversy over the amount of the wage or weekly compensation due in this case. The receipt acknowledged payment of $63 on account of disability resulting from the injury in question. This “stipulation and receipt” was considered by the State Industrial Commission on September 30, 1926, and after consideration thereof an award was made for compensation for disability resulting from the injury in question, the aggregate amount thereof was fixed at $63, the payment thereof was approved, and the payment was credited in satisfaction of the award. On September 30, 1926, claimant returned to work. He worked two days and quit for the reason, as expressed by him in his testimony, as follows: “The work was too heavy. I couldn’t stand it.” “My back was too weak to do the work. I could-n’t stand it and had to quit.” “I had to quit my work, my back hurt me until I had to quit. It was weak.” Thereafter claimant attempted to work and did some work, the amount of which he could not state and the proceeds from which he stated amounted to approximately $100.

On May 2, 1927, claimant filed a motion to reopen the case and grant further compensation for the injury and in support thereof offered to show:

“(1) The claimant will show to the Honorable Commission that the claimant was temporarily totally disabled from performing ordinary manual or mechanical labor to the 24th day of November, 1926, when he worked one day at a wage of $3.76 a day, and was temporarily totally disabled until February 14, 1927.
“(2) The claimant says that he has received five weeks compensation at the rate of $18 a week, being a total of '$90.
“(3) The claimant will further show that he has never fully recovered from the injury of August 31, 1926.
“(4) The claimant will further show that he was under the care of a doctor after compensation was discontinued.”

This motion was heard and testimony was taken in support thereof. The motion was then denied. A petition for rehearing was sustained and the order denying the motion was vacated. On further hearing, the motion was again denied. This proceeding is to review the action of the State Industrial Commission in denying the motion. The order sought to be reviewed found and determined :

“* * * That the evidence is insufficient to show a change in condition, fraud, or that claimant is entitled to further compensation for an injury sustained September 1, 1926;
“It is therefore ordered: That the motion of claimant to reopen cause and award further compensation be, and the same is hereby, denied and this cause closed.”

The petition presents four assignments of error. The first assignment is waived in claimant’s brief, and the others are as follows :

“(2) That the State Industrial Commission committed error in refusing to hold that the petitioner, Fred Huddleston, at a hearing held at Miami, Okla., November 14, 1927, adduced evidence sufficient to show a change in condition, entitling him to further compensation.
“(3) That there is evidence sufficient to sustain the motion of petitioner.
“(4) That the decision and order of the State Industrial Commission is contrary to law.”

The assignments of error are presented by claimant under two propositions, which we will discuss in order. The first is:

“Where a written agreement is filed with the State Industrial Commission which, according to its terms, alleges that the claimant is able to return to work and no hearing is had nor testimony taken of the condition of claimant, and thereafter he makes an effort to work, but finds he is unable so to do because of his disability as a result of the injury, the Commission has jurisdiction to inquire into the facts concerning claimant’s disability and award such compensation as he may be entitled to under the act, regardless of any testimony showing an actual change in claimant’s condition.”

This proposition is based on the assumption that claimant was unable to work “because of his disability as a result of the injury,” and in the absence of a showing of that fact the proposition must fall;

The evidence in this case shows that claimant sustained a prior injury to his back on the 9th day of May, 1925, while in the employ of the Dorothy Bill Mining Company. From that time to the' time of his injury on September 1, 1926, he was able to work only at light work and attempted to work at mining only 17 days, abont ten days of which were immediately preceding the date of his last injury. His testimony on that subject was as follows;

“A. The first work I done was the 9th day of May, 1925, and I never done no work until March 26. 1926. Q. Then you worked *81 from March, 1926, to August, 1926, when you were injured the second time? A. Well, I worked a very little bit. I done very light work March 9th and I think I worked a little bit helping wreck a building, pulling the nails then. I would have to get down on my knees to nail the boxes and then I worked in August, 1926, I went back and tried to work in the mines and worked IT days. I worked at three different places in that 17 days. The work was too heavy for me and I worked these places and had to quit and go out and look for something lighter. I worked three different places in 17 days.”

On cross-examination he testified as follows :

“Q. Before you went to work for the Commonwealth, who had — what had you been doing? A. I 'hadn’t been doing but very little. I done a little bit of work in March, light work helping wreck a building and a couple of small houses. Q. March, 1926? A. Yes, sir. Q. How many days did you do that? A. I think I worked along there about, not steady but I think three weeks on the job. I don’t remember how many days I worked. Q. Do you remember how much you made? A. No, I don’t remember. Q. Going back before March, 1926, what was the work you did before that? A. I don’t — I didn’t do any.”

He further testified:

“Q. You were not able to work between March, 1926, and August 31, except for about ten days? A. No, sir. Q. How did you get along those ten days, Mr. Huddleston— were you able to do a full day’s work? A.

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Related

Arnold v. JF PRITCHARD & COMPANY
399 P.2d 481 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1965)
Neifeh v. Lackey
1931 OK 268 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1929 OK 409, 281 P. 269, 139 Okla. 79, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/huddleston-v-commonwealth-mining-corp-okla-1929.