Isgrigg v. Board of Trustees

401 S.W.2d 936, 1966 Mo. App. LEXIS 720
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 7, 1966
DocketNo. 24285
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 401 S.W.2d 936 (Isgrigg v. Board of Trustees) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Isgrigg v. Board of Trustees, 401 S.W.2d 936, 1966 Mo. App. LEXIS 720 (Mo. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinion

BROADDUS, Special Commissioner.

This case arises as a result of a petition filed by Helen Isgrigg in the Circuit Court of Cole County in which she sought a review of a decision of the Board of Trustees of the Policemen’s and Firemen’s Pension Board of the City of Joplin, denying her application for death benefits as the widow of Roy E. Isgrigg, deceased, under the provisions of Ordinance 19655 of said City. After a hearing the Circuit Court affirmed [937]*937the decision of the Board and this appeal followed.

For many years prior to his death on March 2, 1962, Roy E. Isgrigg was the Chief of Police of the City of Joplin.

Section 11 of the Ordinance specifically provided that among the “members covered” was the “Chief of Police.” And section 17 provided that if any member “shall suffer a personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment * * * and shall by reason thereof be disabled and prevented from performing his duties * * * he shall be entitled to disability benefits * * * ”, and “that illness due to unusual or extraordinary exposure to weather conditions or other hazards as an incident to his duties and to an extent beyond that to which the general public is subject shall be deemed to be an accidental injury within the meaning of the term ‘personal injury by accident.’ ”

Section 21 of said Ordinance contained the provision that if any member should “die as a result of personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment” his widow would be entitled to certain death benefits.

The evidence before the Board disclosed that during the months of March and April, 1961, while in the scope of his employment and as an incident to the performance of the duties required of him Mr. Isgrigg was subjected to exposure to severe rain, hail, ice and sleet storms beyond that to which the general public was subjected. This exposure caused him to develop an acute respiratory infection. At the time x-ray and fluoroscopic examination of his chest proved to be negative. His condition became worse, and on July IS, 1961, he was admitted to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Then, and not until then did examination reveal that he had cancer of the right lung, and that he had this condition prior to the exposure. His condition was then inoperable, his chest was explored and closed.

Dr. John Koehler testified that he had been the treating physician of Mr. Isgrigg for a number of years; that he was a graduate of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; that he specialized in internal medicine; that he had three years of post-graduate training at the St. Louis City Hospital; that he was a consulting physician of Camp Crowder and at the Missouri State Sanitarium for diseases of the chest; that he was a member of the Missouri Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the Southern Medical Association and American Society of Internal Medicine; that he had training in the diagnosis of cancer. The first time he found any serious physical condition of Mr. Isgrigg was on July 11, 1961. Isgrigg reported that while the doctor was on vacation, three or four weeks prior to July 11, he had developed the flu or an upper respiratory infection causing a lot of coughing; that he had seen a Dr. Schulte who had given him an antibiotic. At the time of the conversation, he still had a severe racking cough which was keeping him from resting at night. He came to the office that day, and x-rays were taken of his chest which showed evidence of a tumor of the lung. He was then advised to go to Barnes Hospital for visits and possible treatments of the tumor. The doctor made arrangements for his entry there. He received some reports from the doctors there when Isgrigg came back. The diagnosis at Barnes was carcinoma of the lung. Witness’ findings concurred with the findings at Barnes Hospital. The doctor was of the opinion that exposure of Mr. Isgrigg to rain and other elements for a period of time from the 1st day of March, 1961 to the 28th day of June, 1961, did not alone cause carcinoma of the lung, or would not have caused his death and terminal disease.

In explanation of a letter (Exhibit 4) signed by Dr. Koehler, he stated in essence that as a result of exposure, Isgrigg developed an upper respiratory infection which caused him to have a cough and so forth, and initiated the symptoms which [938]*938caused his initial hospitalization. He did not say that it caused his death and did not infer that it caused the cancer. Witness further stated “as far as I can tell from any medical opinion that I of myself know or have read, because of this problem, in my opinion, this could not have caused the cancer.” In answer as to whether or not Isgrigg had a cancer before he was out in the elements, or whether witness suspected that he may have had it, he stated that one year before, he had a normal chest x-ray; that there was a tumor on x-ray on the 11th day of July; that lung cancer cannot grow in a period of one or two months to the size that it was because when he was sent to St. Louis and underwent an exploratory operation, he was already inoperable so that the cancer could not in his opinion have followed the exposure. The exposure did call our attention to his chest. It did set off the infection, or help to set off the infection which in turn caused the symptoms which made us check his chest. The doctor stated that the tumor was probably there as early as January.

In answer to the following questions propounded to witness by claimant’s attorney, the doctor made the following answers:

Q. Assuming doctor, that prior to May, 1961, Roy Isgrigg had periodical checkups consisting of chest x-ray, a complete physical examination and laboratory tests, and that the clinical findings were negative, and that prior to May, 1961, he was exposed to unusual and extraordinary weather hazards in the line of duty beyond that which the public is subjected, and that as a result thereof developed and acute upper respiratory infection with an acute bronchitis: Would such exposure tend to aggravate a preexisting latent cancerous condition which hastened his hospitalization in July, 1961 ?
A. I have to answer it with qualifications. The upper respiratory infection in my opinion in all probability was caused by his exposure to the elements. This in turn did cause him to have bronchitis, and this in turn, did cause him to come in due time to hospitalization more quickly than he would have come if he had not had this exposure. That is correct.
Q. Would you say, then, it aggravated a pre-existing condition?
A. This in the part I wanted to finish saying and that is, that from my knowledge of cancer, I cannot believe that this did cause, or aggravate I should say, the cancer itself. It aggravated his overall condition. It caused him to go to the hospital, but this was a temporary aggravation. The acute bronchitis in due time cleared up, but then, we were left with the tumor. The tumor, which in my opinion, pre-existed this problem.
* ⅜ * ⅝ * *
Q. No, what you said about infection.
A. Well, now, I don’t believe — at least, I didn’t mean to say this in the way that you understood it. In my opinion, this infection did not infect or set off the cancer. This infection bothered or affected his bronchial tubes, his lung, and did cause him to have a systemic response as a result, but it was not a direct aggravation to the tumor.

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

Related

Ross v. Robb
651 S.W.2d 680 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1983)
Century State Bank v. State Banking Board of Mo.
523 S.W.2d 856 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1975)
Stockwell v. Board of Zoning Adjust. of Kansas City
434 S.W.2d 785 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1968)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
401 S.W.2d 936, 1966 Mo. App. LEXIS 720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/isgrigg-v-board-of-trustees-moctapp-1966.