John Hancock Trucking Co. v. Walker

138 So. 2d 478, 243 Miss. 487, 1962 Miss. LEXIS 366
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 12, 1962
DocketNo. 42236
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 138 So. 2d 478 (John Hancock Trucking Co. v. Walker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John Hancock Trucking Co. v. Walker, 138 So. 2d 478, 243 Miss. 487, 1962 Miss. LEXIS 366 (Mich. 1962).

Opinion

Ethridge, J.

We are concerned in this workmen’s compensation case with two issues: Whether the claimant’s injuries arose out of his employment, caused by the wilful act of a third party directed against him because of his employment; and whether for compensation purposes claimant was at the time the employee of his general employer, or a lent employee of a special employer. The Workmen’s Compensation Commission held that James E. Walker, appellee, was the employee of appellant, John Hancock Trucking Company (called Hancock) and was covered by Hancock’s insurance carrier, appellant Standard Accident Insurance Company; and his injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment. The circuit court affirmed.

Walker, a Negro man, was employed by Hancock as a truck driver, and had been so working for at least several weeks before his injury. In the preceding week he drove a tractor and trailer for Hancock. His employer was in the business of leasing trucks, trailers, and drivers. Frank Edwards owned a gravel pit. On Monday, May 16, 1960, Hancock directed claimant, Walker, to go to the gravel pit and haul gravel for Edwards. Under an oral agreement Edwards paid Hancock for the lease of the gravel truck and driver on the basis of so much per yard of gravel hauled. Hancock paid Walker, for driving the truck, a weekly commission of twenty [492]*492per cent on the dollar. Hancock withheld social security and federal income tax from Walker’s paycheck.

Pursuant to Hancock’s instructions, Walker hauled gravel from Edwards’ gravel pit on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 16-18. Edwards supervised generally the hauling from his gravel pit. On May 18, he had leased from others about thirty trucks and drivers. The only real supervision by Edwards over the truck drivers was in the actual loading of gravel on trucks. Edwards said that usually the drivers knew more about hauling than he did and did not need supervision; if a driver did not haul anything, he did not get paid; it was the driver’s truck and he could go and come whenever he wanted to. He stated he did not have to tell the drivers anything, they knew what to do. They would back up near the dragline whose operator would then load the truck. After trucks were loaded, the drivers hauled gravel to a road project of the State Highway Department about fourteen miles away, and dumped the gravel at that place. The Highway Department supervised the unloading and gave the driver a ticket for the number of yards received. Edwards did not supervise unloading.

On Wednesday, May 18, Walker drove to the highway project with a load of gravel. He was in a line of trucks and ahead of Dumont Parker, a white man who owned and operated his own truck. Parker apparently became angered at claimant’s place in line ahead of him, and told claimant he was not supposed to unload, to which claimant replied that he was. Parker “told me to leave and move my truck and I told him I wouldn’t fall out about who unloaded first. I pulled up ahead so he could go first. Then he backed up and unloaded.” Parker made no specific threat to Walker. Parker then left in his truck. Walker, having unloaded, followed him on the highway leading back to the gravel pit, but Parker turned off along the way. After arriving at the gravel [493]*493pit, Walker stopped in line behind another truck driver, preparatory to picking up another load of gravel, when Parker arrived in his truck, and, without saying anything, took a shotgun and shot Walker five or six times, seriously injuring him.

Miss. Code 1942, Rec., Sec. 6998-02(2) provides: “ ‘Injury’ means accidental injury or accidental death arising out of and in the course of employment, and includes ... an injury caused by the wilful act of a third person directed against an employee because of his employment, while so employed and working on the job.” (Emphasis added.)

The Commission found that claimant’s injuries were caused by the wilful act of a third person, Parker, directed against claimant “because of his employment, while so employed and working on the job.” The evidence supports that finding, which we consider in the light of the facts in evidence favorable to appellee and reasonable inferences from them. Parker became incensed that Walker should be ahead of him in line with his truck, with the right to dump his load first. The argument and Parker’s anger began at the destination of the gravel haul, the highway project, and climaxed at the initial point of the job, the gravel pit. It was a conflict arising between men working on the same job and because of claimant’s employment.

Clearly the injury arose in the course of Walker’s employment. Parker owned his own truck and was hauling for Edwards, apparently on a contract basis. Hence he was not a co-employee with claimant. So Sec. 2(2) of the Act applies. It defines an injury as including one “caused by the wilful act of a third person directed against an employee because of his employment, while so employed and working on the job.” Claimant was working on the job, and the Commission was warranted in finding that his injury was caused by the wilful act of Parker directed against claimant because of his em[494]*494ployment. The subject matter of the dispute leading to the assault was an important element of the employment, namely, unloading of the trucks.

1 Larson, Workmen’s Compensation Law, Sec. 11.12 summarizes the general rule: “Apart from any environmental risk, causal connection with the employment may be shown by connecting the subject matter of the dispute leading to the assault with the employment.

“A familiar illustration is that of the supervisor who is assaulted by a workman who he has fired or otherwise made to feel the weight of his authority.
‘ ‘ Similarly, it is universally agreed that if the assault grew out of an argument over the performance of the work, the possession of the tools or equipment used in the work, and the like, the assault is compensable.”

In short, an assault is work-connected if it grows out of a quarrel whose subject matter is related to the work. Manifestly Parker became incensed at claimant because he was ahead of him in unloading the truck. This quarrel and its subject matter were related to the work which claimant was doing.

Although it involved an assault by a fellow employee, Mutual Implement and Hardware Insurance Co. v. Pittman, 214 Miss. 823, 59 So. 2d 547 (1952), is pertinent. After preliminary horseplay, Stewart, in a vicious assault, hit Pittman on the head with a shovel. The claim was compensable. The employment and nature of the work brought Pittman and Stewart in close contact with each other. One of the hazards of this contact was that of an assault committed by one employee upon another. It was said the question was similar to an injury by a machine in proximity to which an employee was required to work; and that the injury from this hazard of an assault by a fellow employee, which was connected with the job, arose out of and in the course of Pittman’s employment.

[495]*495Somewhat analogous is Miles v. Myatt, 215 Miss. 589, 61 So. 2d 390 (1952), where injuries from horseplay between two employees, resulting in the injury of one, was held to arise out of and in the course of the employment.

In Watson v. National Burial Assn., Inc., 234 Miss.

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

Related

Sanderson Farms, Inc. v. Jackson
911 So. 2d 985 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2005)
Blailock v. O'BANNON
795 So. 2d 533 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2001)
Wanda Blailock v. Shirley O'Bannon
Mississippi Supreme Court, 2000
Stubbs v. GREEN BROTHERS GRAVEL COMPANY
206 So. 2d 323 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1968)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
138 So. 2d 478, 243 Miss. 487, 1962 Miss. LEXIS 366, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-hancock-trucking-co-v-walker-miss-1962.