Fire Com'rs of Fire Dist. No. 2 of Moorestoyvn Tp. v. Morris
| Decision Date | 26 January 1934 |
| Docket Number | No. 232.,232. |
| Citation | 170 A. 221 |
| Parties | FIRE COM'RS OF FIRE DIST. NO. 2 OF MOORESTOYVN TP. v. MORRIS. |
| Court | New Jersey Supreme Court |
Proceeding under the Workmen's Compensation Act by Wilhelmina A. Morris for the death of her husband, Joseph H. Morris, claimant, opposed by the Fire Commissioners of Fire District No. 2 of Moorestown Township, N. J., employer. Judgment affirming award of compensation by Workmen's Compensation Bureau, and employer brings certiorari.
Affirmed.
Carr & Carroll, of Camden, for prosecutor.
A. M. Stackhouse and Louis B. LeDuc, both of Camdeu, for respondent.
Argued October term, 1933, before PARKER, LLOYD, and PERSKIE, JJ.
The writ is to review a judgment of the common pleas court of Burlington county which affirmed a finding of the Workmen's Compensation Bureau. The judgment was in favor of the employee and the employer has the writ. Substantially the only reason, variously phrased, for reversal is that the death of Joseph H. Morris, husband of the petitioner, did not arise out of and in the course of his employment.
Morris was a member of the volunteer fire department of the township of Moorestown and up to the time of his death was in apparent good health, although of overweight He was forty-eight years of age. On the evening of the 7th of March, 1932, the fire alarm signal sounded and Morris, having just eaten a hearty dinner, ran rapidly from his home to the firehouse, a distance of four hundred yards. On arriving at the fire house, and while attempting to start the fire engine, he was seen to slump over the steering wheel. He was taken to a physician for treatment and an examination disclosed that death had already taken place. Medical testimony on behalf of the petitioner was to the effect that death was due to dilation of the heart caused by the unusual strain of hurrying to the firehouse; on behalf of the prosecutor that death was due to natural causes, having no relation to the strain incident to the hurried effort to reach the firehouse.
Against the prosecutor's proofs is the coincidence of the exertion under forbidding conditions and the ensuing death, circumstances to which we cannot close our eyes. We think the evidence amply sustained the finding of the deputy commissioner and the finding of the common pleas court. That the death was Incident to the employment there can be no doubt, and we think it equally clear that it arose out of and in the course of the employment. The hurry in reaching the...
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...on the opinion below, 110 N.J.L. 25, 163 A. 891 (E. & A. 1933); unusual physical exertion dilating the heart, Fire Commissioners, etc., v. Morris, 170 A. 221, 12 N.J.Misc. 153 (Sup.Ct. 1934, not officially reported); prolonged exertion in pulling out great weeds and bushes, lighting up an o......
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Becker v. Union City, A--718
...factual circumstances may be found in the cases of the volunteer firemen in Fire Commissioners, etc., Moorestown, N.J. v. Morris, 12 N.J.Misc. 153, 170 A. 221 (Sup.Ct.1934) and Weisenbach v. New Milford, 134 N.J.L. 506, 48 A.2d 802 (Sup.Ct.1946). Cf. Van Ness v. Borough of Haledon (police m......
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Fox v. City of Plainfield, A--470
...Milford, 134 N.J.L. 506, 48 A.2d 802 (Sup.Ct. 1946). Haste is essential in meeting the emergency. Fire Commissioners etc. of Moorestown v. Morris, 170 A. 221, 12 N.J.Misc. 153 (Sup.Ct. 1934). Fire service, moreover, has its hazards to life and limb of the fireman. Ordinary human experience ......
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Kemling v. Armour & Co.
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