Stapleton v. American Mut. Liability C. Co.

38 S.E.2d 848, 74 Ga. App. 86, 1946 Ga. App. LEXIS 465
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedJuly 10, 1946
Docket31182.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 38 S.E.2d 848 (Stapleton v. American Mut. Liability C. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stapleton v. American Mut. Liability C. Co., 38 S.E.2d 848, 74 Ga. App. 86, 1946 Ga. App. LEXIS 465 (Ga. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinions

The judge of the superior court did not err in affirming the award of the State Board of Workmen's Compensation.

DECIDED JULY 10, 1946.
W. J. Stapleton filed his claim for compensation, with the State Board of Workmen's Compensation, against J. A. Jones Construction Company, as employer, and American Mutual Liability Insurance Company, as the insurance carrier. Upon the trial of the case, the hearing director rendered a decision in favor of the defendants and dismissed the claim. That decision was affirmed by the full board, the award of that board was affirmed by the judge of the superior court, and that judgment is assigned as error.

The hearing director made the following findings of fact and award: "From a careful study of all the evidence, I find as a matter of fact that claimant did not sustain an accidental injury which arose out of and in the course of his employment May 3, 1944; that any injury which claimant sustained May 3, 1944, resulted from a giving away of the right hip; that this weakened *Page 87 condition in his hip existed prior to May 3, 1944; and that the alleged accident of May 3, 1944, in no way or manner aggravated the pre-existing physical condition of claimant.

"Some of the testimony of claimant, as well as that of some of the witnesses, is of such interest that I am quoting portions of it as follows: "On page 2 of the transcript of hearing held December 7, 1944, claimant testified in part: `Q. Did any accident happen to you? A. Yes, sir, I went to get up and something caught my foot, caught on something and throwed me and tripped me backwards. Q. What were you doing at the time you went to get up? A. I was putting them little bolts in them little hangers, what they put around the pipe to hold them from the side of the boat.'

"On page 5 of the transcript of evidence of the hearing held December 7, 1944, claimant further testified: `Q. How long did you have to stay in your house on account of these injuries? A. I ain't struck a lick since the 3rd day of May. Q. Have you been more or less confined to your house since then? A. Yes, sir, might nigh all the time. Q. Prior to the injury, Mr. Stapleton, did you enjoy good health? A. Yes, sir, I enjoyed good health, never have taken no doctor's medicine in forty-five years.'

"On page 9 of the transcript of evidence of the hearing held December 7, 1944, claimant testified on cross-examination in part as follows: `Q. Did you ever work for a railroad? A. Yes, sir, I worked with the railroad. Q. When was that? A. I worked in Waycross, and after four or five months after I come down here and fell in the shipyard I tried to work around here on this railroad and I couldn't make it. Mr. Knight said he would have to let me go. Q. What railroad? A. Coast Line, he said he couldn't work me. Q. You worked for the Coast Line after you got hurt here? A. I tried to work for the Coast Line. Q. When did you go to work for the Coast Line? A. It was about four months after I got off the crutches, about four or four and one-half months, I can't tell you exactly the day I went to work out there, Mr. Knight can. Q. Do you remember his initials? A. Section foreman, Coast Line. He lives around there on Newcastle Street. Q. You worked for the Coast Line here in Brunswick? A. I tried to, they wouldn't work me. Q. Did they pay you anything? A. They paid me a little bit, what I stayed out there. Q. How many payrolls did you have, how many pay checks did *Page 88 you receive? A. I received half of one. Q. One half of one? A. Yes, sir, I couldn't hold out to work. Q. How much was it for? A. They were paying me fifty-seven cents an hour. Q. How much did you draw on the one payroll you met? A. I couldn't tell you now, I never paid no attention to it. Q. What period of time did it cover? A. I can't tell you that, what day. I ain't going to tell you because I don't know. Q. Have you worked anywhere else since you left the shipyard except the Coast Line? A. Yes, sir. Q. Where else? A. I tried to. Q. Where did you try to work? A. I went over to Moultrie. Q. Who did you try to work for there? A. I can't tell you what the name of the company is, I got the card right here. (Witness hands card to attorney Greene.) Q. That is the Moultrie Cotton Mills? A. Yes, sir. Q. How long did you work there? A. I didn't stay in there two hours. Q. Did you go all the way to Moultrie? A. I thought maybe I could find something I could do. Q. And just went over there and worked three hours and came back? A. I didn't make three hours. After he saw the way I was getting down and having to bend, he come to me and told me, "No, I can't work you in here, I am not going to be responsible for your life."'

"On page 2 of the transcript of evidence of hearing held January 12, 1944, Mrs. M. T. Porter testified in part as follows: `Q. Now, during the time that you were making an X-ray of Mr. Stapleton, did you have any conversation with him? A. Usually, when making pictures you ask them how they got hurt and get what information you can about that. I asked Mr. Stapleton how he got hurt, and he said that he fell and then he went on and volunteered the statement that he had fallen that morning before he left home, and his wife asked him not to come to work but he insisted on coming and did. Q. Did you [he?] tell you the reason why he fell and what caused his hip to make him fall? A. His hip just gives away at times, was his statement that he made.'

"On page 3 of the transcript of evidence of hearing held January 12, 1944, Mrs. M. T. Porter further testified in part: `Q. I will ask you whether or not the card which you have in your hand is the original clinic card on W. J. Stapleton? A. It is. Q. And on that card does anything appear in your own handwriting? A. This in pencil here is my writing. Q. Read it. A. Gives history *Page 89 of chronic trouble to hip, falls at intervals without any warning, and then the X-ray number. . . Q. What was the conversation further; you said something about his wife asking him not to? A. He said she asked him not to come to work that morning. Q. Did he give any reason why she asked him not to? A. He said he felt badly and he had fallen, and she had asked him not to come to work.'

"The burden of proof was upon the claimant to show that the accident arose both out of and in the course of his employment. Before an employee can recover compensation for an injury, he must prove to the satisfaction of the board that the disability resulted from an accident which arose both out of and in the course of his employment. It is not sufficient that the employee establish proof that the disability resulted from an accident which arose out of his employment alone, or that the disability resulted from an accident which arose in the course of his employment only. The two factors, namely, (1) that it arose out of, and (2) in the course of the employment, must be definitely established together. Proof of one factor without establishing proof of the other is insufficient.

"A careful examination and consideration of all the evidence adduced at the hearings in this case, together with the report of Dr. Sandison, warrants the finding of fact that the disability which claimant alleges he is suffering from as a result of an accident which occurred May 3, 1944, did not arise both out of and in the course of his employment. On the contrary, the evidence is, to my way of thinking, sufficient to warrant the finding of fact that any injury or disability suffered by claimant resulted directly from a pre-existing physical condition, and that the injury or disability resulted from a giving away of claimant's hip which caused the fall.

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Bluebook (online)
38 S.E.2d 848, 74 Ga. App. 86, 1946 Ga. App. LEXIS 465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stapleton-v-american-mut-liability-c-co-gactapp-1946.