Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills v. Speaks

• Decision Date: 27 September 1954
• Docket Number: No. 35257,No. 2,35257,2
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
• Parties: FULTON BAG & COTTON MILLS v. C. W. SPEAKS

Page 872

83 S.E.2d 872

90 Ga.App. 685

FULTON BAG & COTTON MILLS v. C. W. SPEAKS.

No. 35257.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 2.

Sept. 27, 1954.

Syllabus by the Court.

The State Board of Workmen's Compensation, under all the evidence both lay and expert, must decide the ultimate issues before the board, as we have set forth in the body of the opinion.

This case arose under the Workmen's Compensation Act, Code, § 114-101 et seq., and as disclosed by the record was heard by a single director, the purpose of the hearing being to determine 'Liability, disability, compensation, and medical.' Counsel for the employer stipulated that the claimant, Charles W. Speaks, was an employee of Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills, that he was injured within the meaning of the act on August 17, 1953, that he was making over $48 per week, and that the claimant had been paid no Workmen's Compensation benefits at all, although he had been furnished medical treatment. In view of the argument for both parties, we deem it expedient in this case to set forth the evidence as revealed by the reocrd

The claimant testified as follows: 'That on August 17, he was running a weaving job and the loom had slammed off on an empty quill. He put his hand under the battery to free the shuttle of the empty quill and the loom was still on and when he pulled that quill out, the shuttle freed the loom and it turned over, catching his hand and twisting his arm; that his employer sent him to Dr. York about two hours after the accident happened and he saw Dr. York again on Wednesday and again on Friday; that on Friday, Dr. York told him that some bone was split and he put him in a splint; that the injury was to his right arm and that he stayed in that splint long enough for it to get monotonous; that there was a hole cut in his right [arm] above his hand in the arm about an inch above the wrist joint; that he did not know if the tendon was severed, but it was pretty badly bruised because about two hundred pounds of pressure hit his arm twice; that he had suffered very much pain and that he could not get a job to make a living; that weaving was his regular occupation and that he could not do this type of work with his right arm because he did not have enough strength to do it; that he had lost about 75% use of that right arm on account of this injury; that he could dress himself with it, but he could not do any work; that since he was injured, he had not been able to obtain employment that he could make any money out of; that there had not been any improvement in his condition in quite some time; that he had worked since the injury, but he could not keep up the job and he had to quit; that he worked for the same company for four or five days blowing off the loom with his left arm; that they sent him back home every day because they said they did not have anything for him to do, and he didn't go back any more.

'On cross-examination, witness testified that he did not tell them he was going to quit work and go back to Alabama; that he had to go back to Alabama because he wasn't working and he had to go to live with his mother; that he could have done the work at Fulton Bag that he was doing after the injury, if they would have let him work; that he also tried to work at the Howard Johnson Restaurant learning to be manager, but the job required physical labor such as plumbing and things like that and he could not do it in the condition his arm was in, so he had to quit; that his salary at Howard Johnson Restaurant was $140.00 a month. After he quit that job, he went back to Alabama, where he tried to do some carpenter work, but could not do it.

'On redirect examination witness testified that after the injury he went back on his regular job as a weaver and tried to work, but after about an hour and a half he had to give it up.'

Dr. Thomas P. Goodwin, testified in behalf of the defendant as follows: 'That he was an orthopedic surgeon and that he examined Mr. Speaks, at the request of Dr. York, on November 19, 1953, which was the first time he had seen him; that he examined his wrist and right hand and made X-rays and the only thing that showed up on the X-rays to be abnormal was the tip end of the styloid process, the knob end of the small bone of the forearm, the tip end was cracked off and it had not reunited; that he checked to see if the ligament was pulled loose and found that it was good and strong and functioning as it should; that Mr. Speaks did not have full strength, but that he could see no reason why he could not have full strength when he gets back to using it and exercising it; that he found nothing broken or out of place; that he did not think he had as good a hand and arm as he will have; that he did not believe Mr. Speaks would have over 5% disability, if that much; that he thought Mr. Speaks had a total disability following the injury, but for a couple of months or more; that Mr. Speaks is able to do some work now, but not heavy manual labor; that he may have as high as 25 or 35 per cent temporary disability, but there was no evidence of any permanent disability.

'On Cross-examination witness testified that he could see no reason for a man of his type to lie down on $24.00 a week compensation instead of working; that the best thing he could do for the hand would be to use it actively; that he needs active exercise to get full use of his hand.'

Dr. Jeffery York, testified in behalf of the defendant as follows: 'That he was the physician who attended injured employees at Fulton Bag; that he examined Mr. Speaks and found that he had several injuries, but all of them were of minor nature, he had a contusion and abrasion and laceration wound of his right wrist, medial side, palmer aspect. He had a little contusion and abrasion above the right wrist on the medial side, dorsal aspect. Also a small lacerated puncture wound of the lateral side, palmar aspect of the right wrist and a small chip fracture of the right ulna. It was a small chip fracture of the styloid process of the ulna bone. Nothing in the shaft, just a little protrusion on the end of the bone, called the styloid process. The injury to the ligaments to which this ball is attached, which goes over that side of the wrist, would give him some discomfort on use. The shuttle carrier hitting that gave some contusions of his entire wrist. We stabilized the wrist with splints temporarily, not because it was necessary for union of the bone, but simply for his comfort protection while he proceeded with some other job; that when Mr. Speaks went to him, he was disabled as far as using that hand was concerned; that ordinarily a man using his hand as he does, it would probably take from two or three months until he has no discomfort at all in the hand; that the last time he saw Mr. Speaks was the 18th of November and he found that he was practically well except for some discomfort for which he feared he had in using his hand and wrist and of course that small chip fracture had no bony union; that he would say that he was totally disabled for weaving work six or eight weeks; that in his opinion he is able to work with that hand now, and that exercising the hand would be of help and would cause the strength to come back more quickly; that he should be able to do weaving work; that from the standpoint of the fracture of the wrist, he has reached maximum improvement, but he did not think he had reached his full recovery yet because of the things he complained of, weakness of the wrist; that he should not have any permanent partial disability at all because the more he used his hand, the better it would get.'

Ernest W. Howard, testified in behalf of the defendant as follows: 'That he was Director of Industrial Relations at Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills; that he had general jurisdiction of Workmen's Compensation matters out there; that a report was made up on August 18, 1953, in their clinic to the State Board of Workmen's Compensation; that they sent Mr. Speaks to Dr. York right away; that they waited two days before sending in the report in order to try to get a settlement from the employee, [Speaks]; that they had no intention of hiding this injury from the State Board of Workmen's Compensation; that Mr. Speaks went to work at the mill on the 10th day of August; that he did not work on the 18th of August, but he returned to work on the 19th, and worked until the 27th blowing off looms with a compressed air hose; that for the week ending the 22nd of August, he worked 32 hours and received $33.45. Then on the week ending the 29th of August he worked 32 hours and received $33.44. That he laid out on Friday of the week of the 29th; that there would still be work at the mill for him, if he would take it; that Mr. Speaks told him he was quitting and going back to Alabama to live.'

Charles W. Speaks, recalled to the stand, testified further as follows: 'That he reported to Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills as long as they would give him anything to do; that during the last four days he reported out there they did not give him anything to do; that he reported to Mr. Jesse Gavet; that he did not make any money the last four days he went out there; that they told him they did not need him, to come back tomorrow; that Mr. Gavet is the second hand and he is the one who puts them to work or sends them back home.'

The report of Dr. McClung was admitted in evidence by agreement, and reads as follows:

'Referred by: Mr. Len B. Guillebeau, 1650 Wm-Oliver Building, Atlanta, Georgia.

'History: The above captioned patient reported to my office for examination of right upper extremity and, particularly, of right wrist. Following is a report of my findings: The history, as given by the patient, is that he was injured on August 17, 1953, while employed by Fulton Bag & Cotton Mills. At this time, his hand was caught in a machine, and he received a severe twist of right wrist.

'Chief Complaints: At the present...