Pennington v. Pacific Mutual Life Insurance

52 N.W. 482, 85 Iowa 468
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMay 23, 1892
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 52 N.W. 482 (Pennington v. Pacific Mutual Life Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pennington v. Pacific Mutual Life Insurance, 52 N.W. 482, 85 Iowa 468 (iowa 1892).

Opinion

Rothrock, J.

I. The injury for which the plaintiff sought recovery is stated in his petition in substance as follows: He was a locomotive fireman in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company, with his residence at the city of Crestón, and his run over the railroad was from Ottumwa to Crestón. "While in the line of his duty on a trip he was violently and accidentally injured by the sudden lurching of the locomotive, “while he was in a strained position, attempting to clean the grates of said locomotive, which was part of the duty of said plaintiff as a fireman;” and that by reason of said accident he was greatly injured in his back, which was so wrenched, bruised, and strained that he was immediately wholly disabled from transacting any and every kind of business in connection with his occupation. The defense interposed by the answer was based upon several grounds. It will not be necessary to set them out.in detail, as they are all involved in the points made by counsel in their argument, and will be noticed in the consideration of the case.

[470]*470It is claimed by counsel for the appellant that the verdict of the jury is contrary to the evidence, and that a new trial should have been ordered on that ground. It is sufficient to say of this objection to the judgment that a careful examination of the evidence has led us to the conclusion that the judgment should not be reversed upon this ground. It is apparent from the line of argument of the appellant’s counsel that the cause was resisted in the court below, and is presented to this court, at a cost probably equal to the amount involved in the case, on the ground that the plaintiff’s claim is a mere sham and pretense, and without merit. That is a feature of the case which we are precluded from determining, because there is a fair conflict in the evidence on. every disputed question of fact in the case.

II. We come now to certain, questions which arise on the face of the policy, and the application for insurance upon which the policy was issued. 1. Accident Insurance: policy: construction. These instruments are so voluminous that it is impracticable to set them out at length in an opinion. It is provided in the application that the 1 ‘insurance shall not cover disappearances, nor injuries of which there is no visible, external mark upon the body of the insured.” It is conceded that there is no evidence that there was any visible mark upon the body of the plaintiff at the very time of the injury. • It was a strain, and the immediate effects of the injury would not probably be apparent or visible immediately. The court instructed the jury that it would be sufficient for the plaintiff to show that the injury was visible soon after the accident, and as a consequence of the injury. It is contended that this is an erroneous construction of the contract of insurance, and that there was in fact no evidence that there was any visible'mark indicating an injury at any time. We think there was evidence from which the jury [471]*471could fairly find that the effects of the strain were visible within a few days after the accident. There is nothing in the clause of the contract above set out which requires'that the effects of the accident shall be visible immediately. Such a construction of the contract would defeat all claims for internal injuries not apparent to the eye at once, and would render such á policy in many cases the means of defeating just claims for indemnity. The contract does not contemplate that there must be bruises, contusions, or lacerations on the body, or broken limbs. See U. S. M. A. Association v. Barry, 131 U. S. 100, 9 Sup. Ct. Rep. 755. In our opinion, the instruction complained of was correct.

III. Another objection arising on the face of the contract is raised upon the following grounds: The 2. —: —: —. policy provides that, where the accidental injury creates disability, the defendant shall pay to the plaintiff “the sum of ten dollars per week, not exceeding thirty consecutive weeks, for the immediate, continuous, and total loss of such business time as may result from such injuries.” The court instructed the jury upon this feature of the case as follows :

“If you believe from the evidence that plaintiff received an injury as claimed by his petition, and that such injury wholly disabled him, and prevented him from following- his occupation and performing its duties, and resulted in the total loss of his business time, the defendant will be liable to the payment of a weekly indemnity for the period he was so wholly disabled: provided, you further find from the evidence that the plaintiff promptly notified the defendant of his injury, and in all other respects performed his part of the contract with reasonable diligence.”

It is claimed that this instruction is erroneous, because by the terms of the policy the plaintiff was not [472]*472entitled to any payment whatever, unless his disability yras such that he was unable to do any kind of business. We do not think that the clause of the policy above set out is so broad in its meaning as to defeat a recovery if plaintiff was able to do any kind of business. The whole policy must be examined to determine this question. The plaintiff was insured as a railroad employee engaged in the hazardous business of operating railroad trains. The premium for the insurance was paid by an order on the railroad' company. It is recited in the policy that the insured ‘ ‘is by occupation local fireman under classification engineers.” The reference to “the loss of such business time” has plain reference to the occupation of the insured, and the loss of time in such business - means the loss- of time in the business of a fireman. It has no reference to the whole range of business pursuits. The case of Lyon v. Railway Passengers Assurance Co., 46 Iowa, 631, relied upon by the appellant’s counsel, is not in point. In that case the obligation was to pay for loss of time while the insured was “totally disabled, and prevented from the transaction of all kinds of business.” It will readily be seen that the limitation in the policy in the case at bar is not so comprehensive as in the cited case. It is limited in this case to such business as the plaintiff was engaged in at the time he was injured. It is true that in one of the instructions asked by the defendant the court did charge the jury that the disability must be such as to prevent the plaintiff from all business of every kind. This was in conflict with the instructions given by the court on its own motion. But the conflict worked no predjudice as the instruction asked was more favorable to the defendant than the case demanded, and the jury evidently followed the rule announced in the instructions limiting the policy to the loss of time in the business or occupation of the plaintiff.

[473]*473IV. Another question presented upon the construction of the .written contract is the claim of the 3. -: -: -: proofs of loss: notice to agent. appellant that the plaintiff was hound by the contract to give notice and make proofs of loss to the defendant at San Francisco.

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Bluebook (online)
52 N.W. 482, 85 Iowa 468, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pennington-v-pacific-mutual-life-insurance-iowa-1892.