Lynn v. Arkansas Fuel Oil Co.

• Decision Date: 03 November 1939
• Docket Number: 5969.
• Citation: Lynn v. Arkansas Fuel Oil Co., 192 So. 764 (La. App. 1939)
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana
• Parties: LYNN v. ARKANSAS FUEL OIL CO.

192 So. 764

LYNN v. ARKANSAS FUEL OIL CO.

No. 5969.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

November 3, 1939

Rehearing Denied Dec. 1, 1939.

Writ of Certiorari and Review Denied Jan. 9, 1940.

Appeal from First Judicial District Court, Parish of Caddo Rob't. J. O'Neal, Judge.

Proceeding under the Workmen's Compensation Act by Ben F. Lynn claimant, opposed by the Arkansas Fuel Oil Company, employer. From a judgment in favor of the claimant, the employer appeals. The claimant died since lodging of the appeal whereupon his widow and three children voluntarily made themselves parties to the proceeding.

Judgment annulled and proceeding dismissed.

B. C Dawkins, Jr., and Blanchard, Goldstein, Walker & O'Quin, all of Shreveport, for appellant.

Isaac Abramson, of Shreveport, for appellee.

TALIAFERRO, Judge.

Plaintiff, who died since the lodging of this appeal, sued to recover workmen's compensation on the basis of total disability. The specific facts relied upon for recovery and as set out in the petition are that he " sustained an accident at the place of business of the defendant company, when, as a result of strenuous lifting in the boiler plant * * * petitioner sustained a severe strain; and coupled with the fact that he was working in the boiler room were the temperature was unusually high, became overheated and lost consciousness."

The issues of the case are now narrowed to one, to-wit:

Did the deceased suffer an accident within the meaning of the Workmen's Compensation Law (Act No. 20 of 1914) by becoming overheated, while laboring for defendant, his employer? It is not now seriously contended that deceased experienced an unusual strain while performing the duties of his employment.

From a judgment for the deceased, defendant appealed.

The deceased had been in the employ of defendant and its corporate predecessors for twenty-five years. He was 62 years old when the alleged accident occurred on October 16, 1937. At that time the work he was paid to perform was not of a heavy character. It consisted of washing the concrete boiler room floor six times per month by use of water of nearly boiling temperature, forced through a 3/4" hose, and reading and recording meter and gauge registrations about the premises.

The deceased reported for duty at twelve o'clock on the night of the alleged accident. He immediately removed the hose from the rack, coil at a time, stretched it out on the floor and turned on the hot water, which was supplied by a heater and pump from without the building in which was located the boilers and compressors. The hot water was forcefully discharged from the end of the hose held by the deceased and spilled out over the floor some six feet ahead of him. This was continued around and about the boilers, twelve in number, until the floor was cleansed of oil, grease, etc. The hose was again carefully replaced on the rack in the condition it was before being taken down. The deceased testified that one hour was consumed in washing the floors. The only other witness present, a Mr. McDonald, testified it required only twenty minutes to do it.

The deceased, immediately after putting the hose on the rack, went outside for a few minutes. Upon his return therein, Mr. McDonald, his friend and fellow workman, discerned that he was acting abnormally. He approached deceased, put his arms about his body and asked what was ailing him. The deceased stated that he wished to go home. He was sent home immediately. He went into a faint or semiconscious condition which lasted several hours. It was observed that when he returned to the building that there was cold sweat on his hands and forehead. Sweat had also dampened those portions of his clothing which fitted closely against the body. Since this experience, deceased has been unable to do work of any character.

It is the contention of the substituted plaintiffs that the hot air about the boilers and the heat and steam from the water used to wash the floor, coupled with the physical effort put forth by deceased, caused him to become overheated and that the fainting spell was a direct result of this combination of factors. This result, it is contended, amounts to an accident within the intendment and meaning of the Workmen's Compensation Law, as interpreted in several decisions of this and other courts of the state.

In August, some two months prior to the alleged accident, the deceased consulted Dr. Hargrove, his personal physician, because he had had spells of dizziness, was sore and stiff. Physical examination by the physician revealed that the patient was suffering from very high blood pressure and a weak heart. However, he continued to work regularly until the crash came.

Fellow workmen, for several months prior to the alleged accident, were convinced from deceased's movements and actions, that he was deteriorating physically and mentally.

It was cool the night the deceased collapsed. The temperature without the building registered around 65° Fahrenheit and that within approximately 10° more. The lower court found the inside temperature to have been not over 80° . This under the...