Gregory v. Industrial Commission of Ohio
| Decision Date | 01 May 1935 |
| Docket Number | 25114. |
| Citation | 129 Ohio St. 365,195 N.E. 699 |
| Parties | GREGORY v. INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF OHIO. |
| Court | Ohio Supreme Court |
Error to Court of Appeals, Vinton.
Proceedings under the Workmen's Compensation Act by Elizabeth Gregory to recover compensation for the death of her husband, James Gregory, an employee of the Thompson Coal Company, a contributor to the state insurance fund. The Industrial Commission disallowed claim for compensation. To review a judgment of the Court of Appeals reversing a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas sustaining the claimant's right to participate in the state insurance fund, the Industrial Commission of Ohio brings error.-[Editorial Statement.]
Judgment of the Court of Appeals reversed, and judgment of Court of Common Pleas affirmed.
James Gregory, the deceased, was employed as a driver in the coal mine of the Thompson Coal Company, a contributor to the state insurance fund. It appears that the mine of the Thompson Coal Company was not unionized, and neither Gregory nor any of the other employees at the mine were affiliated with the miners' union. On March 3, 1932, while proceeding to his work, and after reaching the premises of his employer, but at a distance of about 200 yards from the barn where the ponies which he drove and attended were kept, he was assaulted by a group of strangers, and a quarrel concerning the miners' union and Gregory's working at the Thompson mine ensued during which Gregory was struck several times. He was then taken by these men to another point on the premises of his employer, where, after being compelled to pray for the union organization, he was severely beaten and kicked, thereby suffering two fractured ribs, a broken nose, and other wounds.
From the record it is apparent that the strangers who assaulted and attacked Gregory and his companions were ardent sympathizers with, or members of, the miners' union from the mining territory known as the Hocking Valley, and that they had sent word of their impending visit.
Gregory's injuries were attended on the same day by a physician, who described them as ‘ sufficient to be mortal.’ Gregory was never able to work again in the mine and was disabled until his death about six months later. About a month after the attack, Gregory, his wife and children contracted a mild type of scarlet fever, from which all the members of his family made an uneventful recovery. Gregory died on April 19, 1932; the injuries being the determining cause of death.
Elizabeth Gregory, plaintiff in error and the widow of James Gregory deceased, perfected her appeal from the order of the Industrial Commission disallowing her claim for compensation by reason of the death of her husband. She recovered a judgment in the court of common pleas of Vinton county sustaining her right to participate in the state insurance fund. The Court of Appeals reversed that judgment, holding that Gregory's injuries were not received in the course of his employment, and, having decided for the Industrial Commission upon that point, failed to pass on the commission's allegations of error that Gregory's death was not caused by the injuries. Error is prosecuted here to reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
Evidence held to establish that injury sustained by " open shop" miner when attacked and beaten by men from nearby union mines was at least contributing cause of death.
Syllabus by the Court .
1. A miner employed in an ‘ open shop’ mine located near a unionized mining district is subject to a continuous hazard in this day and age greater than is the general public in the community by reason of such condition and environment which are sufficient to furnish a causal connection between the employment and the injury, causing or contributing to the death of such miner when he is attacked and beaten while in the zone of his employment by men from the near-by union mines, and thus make the case compensable and entitle his dependents to participate in the state insurance fund.
2. It being the duty of such miner to haul coal from the mine with a pair of ponies, and it being his further duty to harness the ponies preparatory to hauling, if, while proceeding to the barn where the animals were kept and while on his employer's premises within approximately 200 yards of such barn and 250 yards from the mine, such miner is injured, such injury is received within the zone of his employment.
Harry B. Reese and Charles C. Callahan, both of Wellston, for plaintiff in error.
John W. Bricker, Atty. Gen., R. R. Zurmehly, of Columbus, and Herbert Mitchell, of St. Clairsville, for defendant in error.
We quite agree with counsel that the record in this case presents three questions; namely:
(1) Is the death of an employee from injuries received while proceeding to his work and after reaching the premises of his employer, but before arriving at the point where his active duties began, sustained in the course of employment?
(2) Did the open shop conditions of the mine where Gregory was injured subject him to a hazard greater than that to which the general public in the community was subjected, and thereby establish a causal connection between the employment and the injury?
(3) Was there causal connection between Gregory's injuries and his death?
If the open shop condition of the mine where Gregory was employed at the time of his injury subjected him to a hazard greater than that to which the general public in the community was subjected, then a causal connection was as a matter of fact established between the employment and his injuries.
We do not regard it as necessary to go back and review the old cases, as that has been taken care of in the recently reported case of Industrial Commission v. Carden (Ohio Sup.) 195 N.E. 551.
The case of Industrial Commission v. Nelson, 127 Ohio St. 41, 186 N.E. 735, furnishes the nucleus for...
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