Maas v. Otis Elevator Co.

• Decision Date: 22 April 1940
• Docket Number: 6-1940
• Citation: 12 A.2d 814,140 Pa.Super. 33
• Parties: Maas v. Otis Elevator Company, Appellant
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

12 A.2d 814

140 Pa.Super. 33

Maas v. Otis Elevator Company, Appellant

No. 6-1940

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

April 22, 1940

Argued March 6, 1940.

Appeal from judgment of C. P. Luzerne Co., Jan. T., 1939, No. 381 in case of Edith P. Maas v. Otis Elevator Company.

Appeal by defendant from award of Workmen's Compensation Board.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Superior Court.

Appeal dismissed and judgment entered for claimant. Defendant appealed.

Errors assigned related to the action of the court below in dismissing defendant's appeal and in entering judgment for plaintiff.

Judgment reversed.

James P. Harris, for appellant.

T. G Wadzinski, for appellee.

Before Keller, P. J., Cunningham, Baldrige, Stadtfeld, Parker Rhodes and Hirt, JJ.

OPINION

Stadtfeld, J.

This is a Workmen's Compensation case in which the defendant appeals from the judgment entered by the court of common pleas on the affirmance by the board of an award by the referee.

Edith P. Maas filed a petition for compensation on account of the death of her husband, claiming that he died as a result of an accident while in the employ of the defendant, Otis Elevator Company. The date of the alleged accident and death was August 20, 1937. He left his home, according to the testimony of his widow, at 9:30 A. M. that morning, perfectly well; that prior to said date "he seemed perfectly well, never complained." Ralph Maas had been in the employ of the Otis Elevator Company as an inspector and repairman for many years. On this day about 9:00 A. M., he went to the three-story store of the Peoples Outfitting Company on South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, to make a routine inspection. Inspection of this elevator had been part of his work for many years. The store did not open until 9:30 A. M. At or about that time, he took the elevator to the third or top floor of the building, walked to the rear of the building, and with his tool box on his arm, went up to the roof by way of an outside metal ladder fourteen feet high.

From this point, it was a short distance and beyond a four foot partition to the penthouse or elevator house. This house was about ten feet high and about eight feet square and was built of metal laths and plaster. Inside were the pulleys and electrical machinery to operate the elevator. There were two platforms in it, one upon which the machinery was fastened and extended within about sixteen inches of the side of the elevator house. About forty-five inches below this platform, was another platform which might be called the floor of this house.

About half an hour after Maas had gone up on the roof, an employee of the Peoples Outfitting Company, Ambrose Reese, heard a loud groan and then a heavy thud. He went immediately to the roof and found Mr. Maas lying on a platform in the elevator house. He quickly secured help and got Mr. Maas outside the elevator house. Upon the doctor's arrival shortly thereafter, he was pronounced dead.

A post-mortem was performed which showed that the cause of death was acute cardiac failure. Dr. M. C. Rumbaugh, the family physician, testified that in his opinion, the cause of the death was the strain or effort Maas "experienced while getting up on the ladder onto the roof." The death certificate gave as the cause of death: "Cardiac dilatation, fatty infiltration myocarditis."

It is contended on behalf of the defendant that there was no proof of an accident. Ralph Maas had been inspecting this elevator in this building for a period of more than ten years. He always went to the roof of the building by using this same ladder. Ambrose Reese testified that he had "seen him use the outside ladder dozens of times"; that he had never seen him use the enclosed ladder which was the only other way to get to the roof; that he made frequent inspections. Joseph W. Lisman testified that this outside ladder had been the same for the previous fifteen years; the job on that particular day was merely a routine inspection; and the elevator was not out of order. This testimony was not disputed.

Significance is attached to the fact that he had to carry a tool box to the roof. There was nothing unusual about that as he always took his box up with him. There was no other way to get it up except by rope and Lisman never saw him do that. There was testimony that the weather was "very, very hot." This incident occurred early in the day in the month of August, and there was no proof that it was unusually hot. The conclusion of the physician who testified for claimant was based, moreover, on the step-climbing, not on the heat. He charged the death to no incident that can be classed as unusual or untoward. The combination of circumstances referred to by the board was a combination that would occur on practically any inspection made during the summer months; there was nothing unusual.

It is also undisputed that the heart attack did not occur until one-half hour after Maas had climbed onto the roof. He was there when Reese went to work and Reese testified that "it happened to be just about half hour later."

The testimony of Dr. M. C. Rumbaugh, the family physician, was that the autopsy revealed cardiac dilatation, fatty infiltration myocarditis. He further stated that he had examined Mr. Maas' heart on June 30, 1936; that his heart was all right at that time. Dr....