Garrison v. U. S. Cartridge Co.

• Decision Date: 19 November 1946
• Docket Number: No. 27019.,27019.
• Citation: 197 S.W.2d 675
• Parties: GARRISON v. U. S. CARTRIDGE CO. et al.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

197 S.W.2d 675

GARRISON v. U. S. CARTRIDGE CO. et al.

No. 27019.

St. Louis Court of Appeals. Missouri.

November 19, 1946.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; Robert J. Kirkwood, Judge.

"Not to be reported in State Reports."

Proceeding under the Workmen's Compensation Act by Gerlena Garrison, employee, opposed by U. S. Cartridge Company, employer, and Travelers Indemnity Company, insurance carrier. An award in favor of the employee was reversed by the Circuit Court, and the employee appeals.

Reversed and remanded with directions.

Jack B. Schiff and Lee A. Hall, both of St. Louis, for appellant.

Jones, Hocker, Gladney & Grand and James C. Jones III, all of St. Louis, for respondents.

BENNICK, Commissioner.

This is a proceeding under the Workmen's Compensation Law, Secs. 3689-3766, R.S.Mo.1939, Mo.R.S.A. §§ 3689-3766. The commission entered an award in favor of the employee. Thereafter the employer and insurer appealed to the circuit court, where the award was reversed and the cause remanded. The employee's appeal to this court has followed in the usual course.

The employee, Gerlena Garrison, was a woman 45 years of age, and weighing about 203 pounds. She was employed by the United States Cartridge Company at its ordinance plant at 4300 Goodfellow Avenue in the City of St. Louis, and had been in the company's employ for about 16 months at the time of the accident, which occurred on October 17, 1943.

For the six or seven months preceding the accident the employee had been assigned to the company's packing department, where she packed bullets in small boxes or cartons. She packed and handled around 800 of the cartons during each eight-hour shift, and testified that in the progress of her work she was constantly required to lift the cartons, each of which weighed from 10 to 15 pounds.

The packing department was located on the second floor, which was reached by a concrete stairway leading up from the front entrance to the building. Midway of the stairway was a landing from which the upper and lower portions of the stairway led off in different directions.

The employee was working on a shift which ended at midnight, and on the night in question, after going to her locker to get her wrap, she made her way to the stairway, which she prepared to descend along with a crowd of other employees who were leaving the building at the same time. She testified that she had used this stairway as long as she had worked for the company, and that she had invariably noticed a "rush of people" accumulating at the stairway at the end of a shift. On this occasion "all of those people were pushing" as was their custom, and as the employee turned to descend the flight of steps leading down from the landing, she was pushed by the crowd behind her and caused to fall face forward down the stairway, striking her head against the concrete floor, and rendering her momentarily unconscious.

When the employee regained consciousness, she was taken to the company's first-aid station, where she was treated by the nurse on duty and then sent in an ambulance to the first-aid hospital. Both the station and the hospital were located on the grounds. At the hospital the doctors kept her on the table for two or three hours, and then sent her home accompanied by a nurse. Each day for the following week she reported back to the hospital for diathermic treatment, which was then continued on a weekly basis for a period of about three months. On going back on the job she was given lighter work at the suggestion of the doctor, and was still assigned to the lighter work at the time of the hearing before the referee.

The employee complained of injuries to her head, chest, and right knee; and the chief controversy at the hearing before the referee was whether she had sustained an injury to the right supraorbital nerve, resulting in or accompanied by an impairment of her vision. The commission found against her upon this issue in the case so far as any permanent injury was concerned, but did find that she had sustained a 10% permanent partial disability to her right leg at the knee, and awarded her compensation of $20 a week for 16 weeks, subject to a credit of $5.71 for compensation voluntarily paid her covering the period of time she was away from work.

As we have already pointed out, the employer and insurer appealed to the circuit court, where the award of the commission was reversed, and the case has now been brought to this court upon the employee's appeal from the adverse decision in the circuit court.

While it is the general rule that an injury sustained by an employee while going to or from his work is not compensable, there is an exception where the accident occurs after the employee has come upon the employer's premises or at a place...