Freeman v. Junge Baking Co.

• Decision Date: 24 June 1907
• Citation: 126 Mo. App. 124,103 S.W. 565
• Parties: FREEMAN v. JUNGE BAKING CO.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

103 S.W. 565

126 Mo. App. 124

FREEMAN v. JUNGE BAKING CO.

Kansas City Court of Appeals. Missouri.

June 24, 1907.

1. CORPORATIONS — OFFICERS — AUTHORITY — INJURIES TO EMPLOYÉ — MEDICAL ATTENDANCE.

One who was the general manager of a corporation, and operated its plant, and on occasions previous to the one in question had employed physicians, was authorized to bind the corporation for services rendered by a physician to an employé injured while engaged in its employ.

2. PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS — EMPLOYMENT — WHAT CONSTITUTES.

Where the general manager of a corporation, on one of its employés being injured, directed an employé to call a physician, and placed the injured employé under such physician's care, and did not countermand the first employment, though he knew the physician was continuing to attend the employé, there was an employment of the physician as to his entire services

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jasper County; Hugh Dabbs, Judge.

Action by A. B. Freeman against the Junge Baking Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Blair & Blair, for appellant. C. V. Buckley, for respondent.

ELLISON, J.

Plaintiff is a physician and surgeon. He was called professionally to attend Pontis, one of defendant's employés, whose hand was severely injured while engaged in its service in its bakery. The judgment in the trial court was for plaintiff. There was evidence tending to show that plaintiff was called by telephone to come to see Pontis; that he responded to the call, and he found him suffering with a crushed hand; that defendant's general manager employed plaintiff "to take care of him"; that the manager, with the assistance of another, put Pontis in plaintiff's buggy for the purpose of having him taken to the hospital. The evidence further tended to show that the general manager engaged the hospital to care for him, and the defendant paid the bill for such care; that the plaintiff rendered the service, and his bill is reasonable, is not disputed. But defendant contends that its general manager did not employ plaintiff, and that, if he did, he had no authority to do so.

We considered the question of the authority of a general officer of a corporation to employ a physician to attend an employé in Evans v. Mining Co., 100 Mo. App. 670, 75 S. W. 178; Reynolds v. Railway Co., 114 Mo. App. 670, 90 S. W. 100. In this case the evidence of the defendant's manager himself amply sustains plaintiff's claim that he had authority...