Dubbert v. Beucus
| Decision Date | 25 April 1933 |
| Docket Number | 14,905 |
| Parties | DUBBERT v. BEUCUS |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
From Industrial Board of Indiana.
Proceeding under the Workmen's Compensation Act by Herman Dubbert and Laurette Dubbert, as dependents of Laura Lute Dubbert deceased employee, opposed by Roy Beucus, employer. From an award denying compensation, claimants appealed.
Affirmed.
Tinkham & Galvin, for appellants.
Gavit Hall, Smith & Gavit, for appellee.
Appellants, as the surviving husband and daughter respectively, of Laura Lute Dubbert, filed an application with the Industrial Board for adjustment of compensation as alleged dependents, because of her death as the result of an accident arising out of and in the course of her employment by the appellee.
A hearing was had before a single member of the board, who awarded compensation. Upon a review before the full board, a majority thereof made an award denying compensation, from which the appellants have appealed to this court assigning as error, that the award made by the full Industrial Board is contrary to law.
On the hearing before the full Industrial Board, a majority made a finding of facts as follows:
Upon this finding of facts, a majority of the full board entered an award denying compensation.
It was stipulated by the parties that Laura Lute Dubbert died as the result of an accident on March 4, 1932; that on that date and prior thereto, she was in the employ of the appellee receiving a weekly wage of $ 15. It was not stipulated that the decedent's death arose out of and in the course of her employment, nor that appellants were dependents.
From the evidence, it appears that appellee owned and operated an auto paint shop in Hammond, Indiana. Mrs. Dubbert was employed by him in the capacity of bookkeeper. On the afternoon of March 4, 1932, she did not work, but with relatives made a trip to Kankakee, Illinoise, for the purpose of visiting a sister. Appellee had just moved his business to a new location. Mrs. Dubbert had been working on a mailing list in the forenoon of that day, and appellee gave her instructions to have it out that day. By mailing list he meant cards and letters to notify his customers that he had moved to a new location. On her return home from Kankakee, Mrs. Dubbert, in company with Mrs. Mabel Gluth, a sister living in Hammond, drove past appellee's shop; this was at five or five ten in the afternoon. Mrs. Gluth testified that Mrs. Dubbert went into the shop; she remained in there five or ten minutes; when she returned to the automobile she had a package; from there they proceeded to the home of Mrs. Gluth where Mrs. Dubbert remained for supper. Mrs. Gluth saw Mrs. Dubbert open the package which she got at appellee's shop when she stopped there; it contained cards. While the meal was being prepared Mrs. Dubbert was addressing these card for appellee. Mrs. Dubbert said that she had to get them in the mail; that appellee was re-opening that evening, and she had to have the cards in the mail for the next morning. After the meal Mrs. Dubbert said she wanted to go back to appellee's shop; that she had to see appellee about the cards; she wanted to know about addressing some of them; she did not understand about some he wanted addressed. Mrs. Gluth's husband, George C. Gluth, took Mrs. Dubbert back to appellee's shop in an automobile. They left the Gluth home about seven five o'clock in the evening; when she left the house Mrs. Dubbert had the cards which she had been addressing with her. George C. Gluth testified, that after the meal Mrs. Dubbert said that she wanted to return to the place where she was working, and he took her to appellee's shop in an automobile at her own request; she did not make any statement to him why she wanted to return to the shop; Mrs. Dubbert alighted from the automobile immediately in front of appellee's shop, but on the opposite side of the street; this was between seven five and seven fifteen o'clock in the evening. The next time the witness saw her she was in the hospital where she died, probably about an hour after she alighted from the automobile. He learned that Mrs. Dubbert had been hit by an automobile but did not see the accident happen. The appellant, Herman Dubbert, testified that he was the husband of Laura Lute Dubbert; that they were married April 5, 1916; were living together as husband and wife at the time of her death; that the appellant Laurette Dubbert was their daughter, and was fourteen years of age. He saw his wife at home at noon on March 4, 1932. He had a telephone conversation with her at six o'clock in the evening. He had another telephone conversation with her at twenty minutes of seven o'clock in the evening, when she informed him that she was going back to work, and it was arranged that he should meet her there after work. When he arrived at appellee's shop he found his wife there, suffering from the injuries which caused her death. He found thirty or forty one-cent postal cards and some envelopes in Mrs. Dubbert's purse; she had addressed them. He mailed the postal cards on the morning of March 5, 1932.
Appellee testified that about eleven o'clock in the forenoon on March 4, 1932, Mrs. Dubbert asked him if she could get off that afternoon, he told her that she could have the afternoon off, but that he wanted the rest of the announcements mailed out that day, either in the afternoon or evening. The work she was doing on the announcements was the last of it and he wanted it finished during the day, either afternoon or evening; that was her work and he did not care when she did it. During the time of moving the shop Mrs. Dubbert did occasional work in the evening and came back to the office for that purpose during that period. He saw her at the shop about five o'clock in the afternoon on March 4, 1932; he did not talk to her at all; did not instruct her to return to work that night; did not make any arrangements to meet her at the shop that evening, and did not give her instructions that he would meet her any where else on business. He did not know whether, when she left the shop at five o'clock in the evening, she took any package of cards; he did not see and did not pay any attention; did not give her any instruction that she was...
To continue reading
Request your trial