Green v. Jones Cnty.

• Decision Date: 13 January 1945
• Docket Number: No. 46598.,46598.
• Citation: 235 Iowa 564,16 N.W.2d 238
• Parties: GREEN v. JONES COUNTY et al.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

235 Iowa 564

16 N.W.2d 238

GREEN

v.JONES COUNTY et al.

No. 46598.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Nov. 14, 1944.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 13, 1945.

Appeal from District Court, Jones County; G. K. Thompson, Judge.

Workmen's compensation case where the award in favor of the employee was sustained by the Industrial Commissioner and the District Court. The opinion states the facts.

Affirmed.

Jordan & Jordan, of Cedar Rapids, for appellants.

Hogan & Less, of Cascade, and John J. Kintzinger, of Dubuque, for appellee.

MULRONEY, Justice.

Albert Green, an employee of Jones County, Iowa, filed his application for arbitration under the Workmen's Compensation Law, Code 1939, § 1361 et seq., on October 16, 1942. In the application he alleged ‘that while engaged in replacing a drain culvert on a highway in Jones County, upon which he was working, he injured himself by lifting said culvert, and as a result of said lifting, sustained severe internal injuries, pain, and suffering and serious bleeding from the rectum.’

The hearing before the Deputy Industrial Commissioner, as sole arbitrator, additional arbitrators having been waived, resulted in a finding that claimant was totally disabled for 48 weeks starting from April 27, 1942 ‘* * * as a result of injury April 7, 1942 arising out of and in the course of his employment * * *.’ The decision was sustained by the Industrial Commissioner and the employer appealed to the district court. The district court affirmed the Industrial Commissioner and entered judgment in favor of the claimant. In this appeal by the employer and its insurer the appellants contend (1) that the court erred in holding that there was sufficient evidence to support the finding of the Industrial Commissioner as to the injury arising out of and in the course of the claimant's employment and (2) that the court committed error ‘in failing to hold that the Industrial Commissioner acted in excess of his powers in refusing an examination by the defendant of the claimant at some reasonable place within the State of Iowa.’

I. The claimant's testimony tended to establish that his lifting of heavy culvert pipes on April 7 and April 27, 1942, either resulted in hemorrhoids or aggravated a hemorrhoid condition which later resulted in an abscess in his thigh. He was operated on for this abscess. His condition then improved, and he was back at work in April of 1943. The defendants introduced no testimony.

The trial court's able analysis of the record fully justified his conclusion that there was sufficient therein to support the Commissioner's finding that there was an injuryon April 7, 1942 which either caused hemorrhoids or ruptured previously existing hemorrhoids. As the court pointed out, there was the testimony by the claimant to the effect that he had never, before April 7th, been sick or bothered with hemorrhoids but on that date he felt a sharp pain in his back as he was lifting this heavy culvert and immediately thereafter the passed blood. He attempted to see his doctor that evening but the doctor was not in. He felt better the next morning and went back to work but on April 27th he again felt the pain while lifting a culvert and that evening he passed blood. He then consulted his doctor who found him suffering from hemorrhoids. The doctor cauterized them but claimant complained of a pain in his leg. He was sent to other doctors but his trouble was finally diagnosed as an abscess in his thigh and he was operated on for this abscess on October 31, 1942.

The court also analyzed the medical testimony where claimant's doctor testified that lifting or straining can cause hemorrhoids and in his opinion the straining undergone by claimant on April 7th and 27th was the cause of hemorrhoids in this case and the abscess resulted from the hemorrhoids.

Such undisputed testimony...