Awai v. Ernest Paschoal, Doing Bus. & U-Drive Cars, & Globe Indem. Co.

• Court: Hawaii Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: RICE
• Citation: Awai v. Paschoal, 43 Haw. 94 (Haw. 1959)
• Decision Date: 15 January 1959
• Docket Number: NO. 4039.,4039.
• Parties: MRS. DOROTHY K. AWAI, WIDOW OF JOHN L. AWAI v. ERNEST PASCHOAL, DOING BUSINESS AS PASCHOAL'S TAXI SERVICE AND U-DRIVE CARS, AND GLOBE INDEMNITY COMPANY.

43 Haw. 94

MRS. DOROTHY K. AWAI, WIDOW OF JOHN L. AWAI

v.ERNEST PASCHOAL, DOING BUSINESS AS PASCHOAL'S TAXI SERVICE AND U-DRIVE CARS, AND GLOBE INDEMNITY COMPANY.

NO. 4039.

Supreme Court of the Territory of Hawai‘i.

Argued November 14, 1958.

Decided January 15, 1959.

APPEAL FROM CIRCUIT COURT SECOND CIRCUIT, HON. CABLE A. WIRTZ, JUDGE.

Syllabus by the Court

In order to be compensable under the workmen's compensation law, the injury must be the result of an accident arising out of and in the course of employment.

For recovery under the workmen's compensation law, a person who suffers cerebral hemorrhage in the course of his employment need not adduce evidence of unusual exertion or strain, proof of such exertion or strain as may occur in the normal course of work being sufficient; however, he must establish a causal relationship between such exertion or strain and the injury.

In this case, the circuit court, upon weighing conflicting medical testimony, found that the injury resulting in death was due entirely to the decedent's preexisting diseased condition and not the result of an accident arising out of his employment.

It is for the trier of facts to determine the weight to be given to conflicting expert testimony.

William F. Crockett and Wendell F. Crockett (also on the briefs) for appellant.

Roy A. Vitousek, Jr. ( Pratt, Tavares & Cassidy with him on the brief), for appellee.

RICE, C. J., STAINBACK AND MARUMOTO, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT BY MARUMOTO, J.

This is an appeal by Dorothy K. Awai, widow of John L. Awai, from a judgment of the circuit court, second circuit, reversing the decision of the Maui County Industrial Accident Board in her favor and dismissing the claim to compensation under the workmen's compensation law on account of her husband's death. Hereafter, Dorothy K. Awai will be referred to as claimant and John L. Awai will be referred to as Awai.

Awai was employed as a tour driver by Ernest G. Paschoal, doing business as Paschoal's Taxi Service and U-Drive Cars, on April 27, 1953, and had been so employed for several years before that date. As a tour driver, he drove tourists to various scenic spots on Maui, including the crater of Haleakala.

During the time that Awai was employed by Paschoal, a tour driver for Paschoal normally followed the following procedure on a tour of Haleakala: he would meet a group of tourists at Kahului Airport near the sea level, drive the tourists over a winding road to a parking lot near the observation building at an elevation of about nine thousand feet, lead them along a cinder path for three-tenths of a mile to the silver sword area, entertain them at the observation building and later at a lodge at an elevation of about seven thousand feet, climb an embankment two to three feet high at an elevation of about twelve hundred feet to pick pineapples for them, and drive them back to the airport via Iao Valley.

On April 27, 1953, Awai was seen leaving the airport with six tourists on a seven-passenger automobile; he was next seen leaving the observation building and driving out of the parking lot; he was thereafter seen in the lobby of the lodge and later driving down from the lodge; and he was finally seen slumped unconscious in his automobile on a roadside with the passengers still on the automobile. There was a fresh pineapple in his automobile. Beyond these facts, there is no evidence as to what he did on the day's tour. He was taken to Puunene Hospital, where he died later on the same day without regaining consciousness. Dr. Edward B. Underwood, who attended him at the hospital, certified that he died from cerebral hemorrhage.

On March 27, 1953, Awai consulted Dr. Lester Kashiwa, complaining of dizziness with headaches off and on. Dr. Kashiwa, upon examination, found that Awai had high blood pressure. He gave medication to relieve the condition and told Awai to go home and rest. He thereafter examined Awai at intervals of three days until April 9, 1953, when he permitted him to return to “light duty” work.

Upon Awai's death, claimant filed her instant claim. In order to prevail, claimant must establish that the death resulted from an...