Goff v. Union County, A-26335.
| Citation | 57 A.2d 480 |
| Decision Date | 08 January 1948 |
| Docket Number | No. A-26335.,A-26335. |
| Parties | GOFF v. UNION COUNTY et al. |
| Court | New Jersey Department of Labor-Workmen's Compensation Bureau |
Proceeding under the Workmen's Compensation Act by William Goff, claimant, opposed by the County of Union, Sheriff of Union County and Board of Chosen Freeholders of Union County.
Claim petition dismissed.
A claim petition was filed by the petitioner in the above entitled matter pursuant to R.S. 34:15-1 et seq., N.J.S.A., wherein he alleged that on September 11, 1946, he was employed by the County of Union, Sheriff of Union County and Board of Chosen Freeholders of Union County, the respondents, as a painter.
The petitioner further alleges that on the said day while painting, he fell and struck his back and spine on the end of a sink sustaining permanent injury and disability to his back, spine and nervous system.
Subsequently, the respondents filed their answer to the claim petition. They denied the accident, employment, causal relationship and disability, and averred that when alleged accident occurred the petitioner was ponfined to the Union County Jail; that he had been received at the jail to serve a six months sentence on a disorderly conduct charge; that the petitioner did not sustain any injuries as the result of an accident which arose out of and in the course of any employment with them within the intendment of the statute and that the Workmen's Compensation Bureau is without jurisdiction in this matter.
Joseph Butt, Elizabeth, for petitioner.
Edward E. Kuebler, of Newark, for respondent.
MEDINETS, Deputy Commissioner.
It was stipulated by and between the attorneys for the respective parties that the testimony of the witnesses in the cause should be taken before Honorable Harry Berger, a referee of the Workmen's Compensation Bureau, with the same force and effect as though it were taken before the Deputy Commissioner, and a transcript of that testimony was to be submitted to me for determination and finding of the facts.
The petitioner testified that on September 11, 1946, while an inmate of the Union County Jail, and officer in the jail inquired of him if he would do some painting. He consented to perform this work because he would obtain some extra food. The material was supplied by the county and the petitioner was obliged to follow the instructions of a guard who supervised the work.
On the day in question the petitioner was painting a cell block and, as he stepped from a bench to an iron cot, his right foot slipped and he fell, striking his back on a sink in the cell. He did not report the incident to a guard that night, but did inform the guard about it the next morning as his back still pained him. Subsequently he was treated by the jail physician and he received treatment twice a week for eight weeks at the Elizabeth General Hospital.
On cross examination the petitioner said that a guard, who is in charge of the detail, selects the prisoner he desires from the cell blocks and he tells them what work he wants done. The prisoners are picked for permanent details and they are assigned to that work for the duration of their sentences. If a prisoner refuses to work he is locked up in the cell block.
Dr. Pasquale F. Cardinale appeared as a witness for the petitioner. He testified that he examined him on October 14, 1947, and as a result of that examination, he made a diagnosis of a contusion of the lower spine. He estimated the disability at 7% of partial permanent total.
Alex Campbell was also called as a witness for the petitioner. He testified that on September 11, 1946 and for some time prior he was the Sheriff of Union County. One of his functions in that capacity was the supervision of the jail and its personnel.
Mr. Campbell said that on September 11, 1946 the petitioner was incarcerated in the Union Jail, and it was his understanding that a person under sentence can be used for cleaning or any other work that may be necessary...
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...Case of Greene, 280 Mass. 506, 182 N.E. 857; Schraner v. State Dept. of Correction, 135 Ind.App. 504, 189 N.E.2d 119; Goff v. Union County, 26 N.J.Misc. 135, 57 A.2d 480). In one Arizona case in which a prisoner was granted compensation benefits, the inmate in question was injured while wor......
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...182 N.E. 857 (1932); Brown v. Jamesburg State Home for Boys, 60 N.J.Super. 123, 158 A.2d 445 (1960); Goff v. County of Union, 26 N.J.Misc. 135, 57 A.2d 480 (Workmen's Comp. Bur. 1948); Scott v. City of Hobbs, 69 N.M. 330, 366 P.2d 854 (1961); Reid v. New York State Dept. of Corr. Serv., 54 ......
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