Pearson v. Randall

91 S.W.2d 116, 230 Mo. App. 416, 1936 Mo. App. LEXIS 115
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 17, 1936
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 91 S.W.2d 116 (Pearson v. Randall) 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
Pearson v. Randall, 91 S.W.2d 116, 230 Mo. App. 416, 1936 Mo. App. LEXIS 115 (Mo. Ct. App. 1936).

Opinion

SHAIN, P. J.

This action arose under the "Workmen’s Compensation Act.

It appears that in June, 1930, William A. Spiva, while engaged as a plasterer as an employee of George E. Randall, and while working on a scaffold, stepped on a board which broke and caused him to fall approximately six feet to a concrete floor.

It is shown that on June 22, 1930, Spiva was taken to a hospital and there he was daily attended by Dr. John Luke until August 31, 1930, when he died.

After the death of Spiva, his daughter, Opal V. Pearson, alleging herself ás a dependent, made application to the Workmen’s Compensation Commission for compensation.

The parties were notified, and on January 6, 1931, a hearing was had before Jay J. James, a member of the commission.

At this hearing the employer and the insurance company were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing.

*418 No jurisdictional questions were raised. That Spiva was an employee was not disputed, and no question as to Spiva having had a fall, by reason of a plank in the scaffold breaking, was raised.

In making application for compensation, Opal Y. Pearson designated the time of the accident as around June 16 or 17, 1930.

The great weight of the evidence at this hearing was that the accident occurred on June 18, 1930.

At this hearing no serious question as to the time of the accident was raised. It appears that all parties in the conduct of the proceeding, including examination of witnesses, acted upon the theory that the accident occurred approximately at the time stated and the testimony of Charles A. Spiva, a son of deceased, who was the foreman on the job, and of workmen who were on the job fully substantiated as to the time.

It appears that the serious contest at this hearing "was centered upon the question as to whether or not the applicant was a dependent upon her father.

Dr. Luke, the attending physician, testified that Mr. Spiva died from traumatic arthritis, that in his opinion was caused by fall and injury.

There was no evidence offered by the employer or insurance company to contradict the facts as set forth above.

On February 2, 1931, Commissioner James made an award on hearing had, January 6, 1931; the Commissioner in this award found that Opal Y. Pearson was a dependent; that the accident occurred June 18, 1931; that the parties come within the provisions of the act; that deceased received his injuries in due course of employment and that he died from result of injury received June. 18, 1930.

The Commissioner’s award allowed the applicant $20 per week for 300 weeks, totaling $6000.

It appears that on- February 11, 1931, that the employer and the insurance company made an application for review by the full commission. This application made upon the printed form used had typewritten on its face the following sentence to-wit:

“The employer and insurer desire to introduce newly discovered evidence and request the Commission to set the case for the taking of further testimony on review.”

It appears from the record before us that there was a hearing had before Commissioner James on Wednesday, April 1, 1931.

At this hearing, Mrs. Opal Pearson was called and examined by council for employer and insurance company; her testimony was principally directed'to the question of dependence.

Nine other witnesses were called and examined by the employer and insurance company and at this hearing all questions tried and determined in the hearing of January 6, 1931, were opened up and gone into. This was done over the protest of claimant. In this hear- *419 mg there was much evidence that the accident Occurred on June 2, 1930.

Much of the evidence given, on this hearing was based upon the memory of fellow workmen.

In the evidence in the regular hearing on January 6th, it was developed that the deceased, while having accident on'the 18th, stayed on the job and returned on the 19th and only stayed two hours and left and that he was not thereafter on job.

In the hearing on April 1, 1931, witnesses testified from their recollection,' that the accident happened in the early part of June and testified that they had seen Mr. Spiva on the job after the accident for a number of days. The effect of such testimony is manifest in view of the fact that in the hearing on January 6th the evidence was to the effect that after two hours on June 19th, Spiva was not thereafter on the job.

At the hearing before Commissioner James on April 1, 1931, a Mr. Heflin was called and testified. Heflin was superintendent of the job upon which Spiva was employed. He testified that he kept the time on the job as same was given him by the various foremen. He testified that he was around the job daily. His knowledge as to what occurred he admitted would be from the time book and. accident report.

Mr. Heflin, in the course of his examination, was handed what was designated as the time book. From reference to this time book, which does not appear in the record, the witness testified to the fact that the deceased worked after June 2nd; that he worked only two hours on the 19th, but not thereafter.

"What purported to be the accident report was shown the witness; however, the report is not shown in the record. The testimony discloses that the accident report was made on June 25th, three days after Spiva went to the hospital. From the testimony it appears that time of accident was indicated on this report- as 6-2.-

It appears that the witness made some notations on this accident report and signed same with blanks that were afterwards filled out by another employee.

In the course of the examination of this witness the following questions and answers appear:

“Q. Have any kind of record outside of that one day he lost to make you think the accident happened that day? A. No, I have no other record outside of this book and that piece of paper.

“Q. And in order to determine when accident happened you had to go back over time book and see where he missed a day and then you put that down as day of accident? A. That’s correct.”

As to the hearing held before Commissioner James on April 1, 1931, suffice it to say, that there was ample evidence offered from which it could be concluded that the accident occurred on June 2, *420 1930, and ample evidence from which it can be concluded that Spiva died from other causes than the injury, if any, occasioned by the accident. The evidence as to the accident being on June 2nd was given by the employee, his superintendent and others working on the job. The evidence contradicting the theory of death as a result of the accident was given by experts based upon hypothetical questions fixing the time of the accident as of June 2,1930.

It appears that the only award made by Commissioner James was the award of February 2, 1931. This award could not of course be based upon any evidence in a hearing before him on April 1, 1931.

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Related

State Ex Rel. Randall v. Shain
108 S.W.2d 122 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1937)

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Bluebook (online)
91 S.W.2d 116, 230 Mo. App. 416, 1936 Mo. App. LEXIS 115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pearson-v-randall-moctapp-1936.