Simmons National Bank v. Brown

195 S.W.2d 539, 210 Ark. 311, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 353
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJuly 1, 1946
Docket4-7949
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 195 S.W.2d 539 (Simmons National Bank v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Simmons National Bank v. Brown, 195 S.W.2d 539, 210 Ark. 311, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 353 (Ark. 1946).

Opinion

Minor W. Millwee, Justice.

A hearing before the chairman of the Arkansas Workmen’s Compensation Commission resulted in an award of compensation to appellee, George Brown, for the loss of a substantial portion of the vision of an eye while employed as a bank teller for appellant, Simmons National Bank. Upon a review by'the full commission, the award was sustained. The insurance carrier and employer have appealed from the judgment of the circuit court affirming the award of the commission.

It is urged on this appeal that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the commission’s finding that appellee sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment.

The statement, finding of fact, and conclusions of law are set out in the opinion of the commission as follows :

“Statement of the Case

“The claimant was employed as a teller in a bank operated by the respondent employer on May 11, 1944. While performing his duties in this capacity on that date, about 1:00 p. m., the claimant became aware of an itching in his right eye and thought he had got dust in his eye. He was in the teller’s cage at the time, having returned to work at the end of his lunch period, 12:45 p. m. He mentioned his difficulty to Assistant Cashier E. L. Williams, who advised him to consult a doctor. The claimant then telephoned Dr. Clark who prescribed an eye wash. The following day the claimant was still in pain and went to see Dr. Clark who referred him to Dr. Caldwell, an eye specialist of Little Bock. Thereafter, the claimant was treated without success by several eye specialists of Little Bock, Dr. Caldwell, Dr. Schwarz, and Dr. Cosgrove, and Dr. Ellet of Memphis, until Dr. Cos-grove resorted to the use of penicillin which resulted in immediate improvement.

“The medical testimony is to the effect that the claimant was suffering from a corneal ulcer which could have been caused by dust or some other foreign body or by focal infection. No source of infection was found by the doctors.

“UponThe above statement, the Commission makes the following

“Finding of Fact

“1. The claimant sustained an accidental injury to his right eye on May 11, 1944, which arose out of and in the course of employment.

“Upon the above finding of fact, the Commission bases the following

“Conclusions of Law

“The claimant first became aware of the condition of his right eye while performing his duties. The first doctor who saw him made a diagnosis of: ‘either foreign body or some irritant within the eye. ’

“The claimant is not required to prove his case to a mathematical certainty. The doctors were of the opinion that the condition was due to foreign substance or infection, and none discovered a source of infection. This is a factor which strongly supports the claimant’s contentions. We believe it amply sufficient to create a doubt that should be resolved in favor of the claimant.

“Having reached the conclusion that the claimant got foreign substance in his eye while performing his usual duties in his customary place of work, and during his regular hours of employment, we cannot escape the conclusion that the resulting injury was accidental and arose out of and in the course of employment.”

In addition to the facts disclosed by the opinion of the commission, there was evidence that claimant had been employed in the bank since 1929 and was wrapping currency and silver in the teller’s cage when he had a definite sensation that something was in his eye. The bank was not air-conditioned and “blow fans” were used for ventilation. None of the doctors found a foreign object in appellee’s eye, but an eye wash prescribed by Dr. 'Clark was used by appellee on the afternoon of May 11 and the morning of May 12 before he was examined by the doctor. Dr. Caldwell and Dr. Cosgrove were witnesses before the commission and both testified that appellee, in giving his case history, told them he thought he got dust or some other foreign object in his eye while at work.- They also testified that appellee’s condition could have been caused by getting some foreign substance in his eye or by an infection in the body, but neither was able to find any systemic infection which would have produced the condition. Appellee had a- loss of vision of 80 per cent and had been unable to work since May, 1944.

The rule to be applied in testing the sufficiency of the evidence to support an award of the commission is stated in 71C. J., p. 1279, as follows: ‘'‘Where the board or commission lias made an award in favor of the employee, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to support the award, and every legitimate inference will be drawn in favor of the employee. ’ ’ This court is also committed to the rule that the findings of fact by the commission are, on appeal, given the same verity that would attach to a,jury’s verdict, or to facts found by the judge of the circuit court where a jury was waived. If the findings of fact made by the commission are supported by any substantial evidence, such findings will not be disturbed by either the circuit court, or this court, on appeal. Lundell v. Walker, 204 Ark. 871, 165 S. W. 2d 600; J. L. Williams & Sons, Inc., v. Smith, 205 Ark. 604, 170 S. W. 2d 282; McGregor & Pickett v. Arrington, 206 Ark. 921, 175 S. W. 2d 82.

It is first insisted that there is no proof that a foreign body lodged in appellee’s eye during the course of his employment, and that the commission’s finding that appellee suffered an accidental injury is, therefore, wholly-conjectural and without evidence to support it. A similar contention was made in a case involving a death claim in Herron Lumber Co. v. Neal, 205 Ark. 1093, 172 S. W. 2d 252, where this court said: “In all cases of this kind it is difficult to show with certainty the exact cause of death, and we do not believe that it is required by the law that the claimant should be compelled to prove the alleged cause of death to a mathematical certainty. The California Supreme Court, in the case of Pacific Employers Ins. Co. v. Industrial Accident Commission, 19 Cal. 2d 622, 122 P. 2d 570, 141 A. L. R. 798, lays down this rule: ‘Circumstantial evidence is sufficient to support an award of the commission, and it may be based upon the reasonable inferences that arise from the reasonable probabilities flowing from the evidence; neither absolute certainty nor demonstration is required.’,

“The rule as to the quantum of proof necessary to sustain an award in a case of this kind is thus expressed in 71 C. J., p. 1087: ‘In determining the sufficiency of evidence, doubts should be resolved in favor of claimant, and the evidence should be reasonably and liberally construed in Ms favor.’ ” When we look to the evidence in the light most favorable to the award, and consider all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the facts and circumstances, we think there was sufficient competent evidence to support the conclusion of the commission that appellee suffered an accidental injury in the course of his employment by getting some foreign substance in his eye.

It is next insisted that the injury, though accidental, did not arise out of the employment.

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

Related

San Antonio Shoes v. Beaty
771 S.W.2d 802 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1989)
Johnson v. Valmac Industries
599 S.W.2d 440 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1980)
Model Laundry & Dry Cleaning v. Simmons
596 S.W.2d 337 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1980)
American Red Cross v. Wilson
519 S.W.2d 60 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1975)
Herman Wilson Lumber Co. v. Hughes
431 S.W.2d 487 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1968)
Wonder State Mfg. Co. v. Howard
338 S.W.2d 682 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1960)
Ark. Power & Light Co. v. Scroggins
328 S.W.2d 97 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1959)
United Steelworkers of America v. Walden
311 S.W.2d 787 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1958)
Morrison's Case
127 N.E.2d 191 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1955)
Chicago Mill & Lumber Co. v. Fulcher
256 S.W.2d 723 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1953)
Brookhaven Steam Laundry v. Watts
55 So. 2d 381 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1952)
C. & B. Construction Co. v. Roach
248 S.W.2d 368 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1952)
Ledbetter v. Adams
230 S.W.2d 21 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1950)
Dundee Woolen Mills v. Chism
219 S.W.2d 628 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1949)
Stout Construction Company v. Wells
217 S.W.2d 841 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1949)
Employer's Casualty Co. v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.
214 S.W.2d 774 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1948)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
195 S.W.2d 539, 210 Ark. 311, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 353, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simmons-national-bank-v-brown-ark-1946.