Celanese Corp. of America v. Lease

• Decision Date: 20 May 1932
• Docket Number: 44.
• Parties: CELANESE CORPORATION OF AMERICA ET AL. v. LEASE.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

160 A. 801

162 Md. 587

CELANESE CORPORATION OF AMERICA ET AL. v. LEASE.

No. 44.

Court of Appeals of Maryland

May 20, 1932

Appeal from Circuit Court, Allegany County; Albert A. Doub, Judge.

Proceeding under the Workmen's Compensation Act by Theodore W Lease, claimant, opposed by the Celanese Corporation of America, employer, and the Maryland Casualty Company insurer. From the decision of the State Industrial Accident Commission disallowing compensation, claimant prayed an appeal to the circuit court, and upon his death, his administratrix Dora Elizabeth Lease was made party claimant. From the judgment of the circuit court reversing the Commission's decision, the employer and insurer appeal.

Reversed and remanded.

Argued before BOND, C.J., and PATTISON, URNER, ADKINS, OFFUTT DIGGES, PARKE, and SLOAN, JJ.

F. Brooke Whiting, of Cumberland, and G. Randolph Aiken, of Baltimore, for appellants.

Estel C. Kelley, of Cumberland (William A. Huster, of Cumberland, on the brief), for appellee.

OFFUTT J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for Allegany county reversing a decision of the State Industrial Accident Commission under and by which the commission disallowed a claim filed by Theodore (also known as Dora) W. Lease for an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment by the Celanese Corporation of America.

It submits two questions: (1) Whether there was in the case competent evidence legally sufficient to show that the injury to Lease arose out of and in the course of his employment by the Celanese Corporation of America, hereinafter referred to as the Celanese Corporation; and (2) whether at the trial in the circuit court for Allegany county it was competent for the parties to supplement the record of the proceedings before the State Industrial Accident Commission, hereinafter called the commission, where an issue of fact was submitted to a jury, by additional evidence. A third question was determined by the trial court, to wit, whether the notice and claim were filed in time. The rulings of that court were adverse to the appellants on issues involving that question, but appellants' objection to those rulings was not pressed in this court, and they will not therefore be considered or discussed further than to say that, if there was a delay, it was excused by the commission, and there is nothing in the record to indicate that in so acting it abused the discretion reposed in it by the statute, Code, art. 101, §§ 38, 39; Victory Sparkler & Specialty Co. v. Francks, 147 Md. 383, 128 A. 635, 44 A. L. R. 363.

In connection with the first question, evidence offered before the commission tended to establish the following state of fact: Theodore W. Lease, who also appeared to have been known as Dora W. Lease, was employed by the Celanese Corporation as a truck driver. In the course of that employment at about 5:30 p. m. on August 28, 1930, he was engaged in loading boxes weighing from 500 to 600 pounds from a little truck into a freight car. He was standing on the ground and had up-ended one of the boxes to tilt it towards the opening in the car and had lifted it nearly all the way when he slipped, and the box came back, it did not strike him, but he had to "strain" to keep it from falling. It slipped two and a half or three feet, and, to quote from his deposition, "he hurt himself on the right side, above the hip, in front." He reported to "his boss Mr. Squires, that he had hurt himself, and got a slip to go to the first aid department." He told Squires and the nurse in the first aid department that he had "strained" himself, and he also told the nurse that he thought he had ruptured himself. He went to the first aid station on the second day after he was hurt, saw Dr. Walker, the "Plant physician" three times, and returned to work in about two weeks. He had no bruises, but did have abdominal pains, "a sudden strain did the whole business." He later quit work, consulted Dr. F. A. G. Murray, and, on his advice, went to the Allegany hospital where he submitted to an operation for a perinephritic abscess, returned to his home on December 24, 1930, re-entered the hospital in the following July, and on December 25, 1931, died. He was again operated on in August, 1931, and Dr. R. C. Bowen testified that at that time there were "numerous sinuses extending from the kidney region into the groin and around the hip and at that time there was a large abscess extending practically up the back unto the scapula and shoulder blade." The same witness further said he was unable to say that a perinephritic abscess was always the result of a direct blow; that he had never heard of a case in which such an abscess had developed from a strain, but that a strain is usually associated with a rupture of "fibre muscle"; that perinephritic abscesses develop without strain at all; that he had not had many cases of such abscesses following accidents, but had had quite a few following systematic infection; that "one cannot always find when systematic infection originated in the body, that this was a case in which a doctor would have to speculate under the circumstances; that if he had some rupture in the soft tissues surrounding the kidney would expect pain in front of abdomen down to uretur."

For the employer and insurer, Dr. William A. Gracie testified that he had examined the patient and the hospital record in the case, and that upon that examination he did not see how a man can develop a perinephritic abscess from such an alleged accident. On cross-examination he was asked if it were not true that in all severe strains muscles are torn and will show bruised and bloody places, and he answered that that was possible, but that "you have a discoloration on the outside." When asked if it were not possible that a severe strain such as had been described by Lease would result in torn muscles which might become infected from some infection in the blood stream from teeth or tonsils, he said: "Now a man holding something could tear the muscles of his back; a severe strain--a man could be under such pressure that something would give, but if it were that severe I certainly would think beyond the shadow of a doubt that the following day or immediately after that time, the man would be severely shocked and the physician would see marked evidences of these torn muscles, if it was that severe. If that severe, could create a hemorrhage and evidences of that severe injury would be showing to the extent that the patient would be, in my judgment, practically confined to bed and very ill indeed." When asked by Commissioner Crothers what effect such an injury would have in localizing such an infection, he said: "Well, there is a possibility perhaps. There are a great many different views on those subjects, and my own view, I am sure, is not in accord with a great many. I personally feel that the majority of these things are coincidences. I am just giving my own opinion. There are a great many views, but from authority and reading you soon would fall in accord with certain views, and I think the majority of these things are more frequently coincidences and not actually what I know."

Dr. H. B. Walker first saw Lease on August 30, 1930, and at that time he complained of pain and strain of the abdominal muscles where the "pubic bone" is located, but did not complain of any pain in his back, and there was no discoloration or bruises and no evidence of injury on his body. He also testified that "to develop a perinephritic abscess one must have a direct blow over the kidney, and I cannot conceive the idea and find any connection between the abdominal muscles and the suppurated perinephritic abscess."

Dr. Frank M. Wilson examined Lease and the hospital records, and heard the testimony, and from those sources of information formed the opinion that there was no connection between the alleged accident on August 30, 1930, and the "abscess which Lease had." He further testified that a strain would not cause such an abscess.

Bessie L. Phillips, a nurse at the factory of the Celanese Corporation, said that when Lease "came in" he said that he was "loading boxes on a...