Packer v. Corbett Canning Co.
Decision Date | 06 June 1961 |
Docket Number | No. 17795,17795 |
Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
Parties | Mrs. Ida PACKER, widow of Walter Ernest Packer, Appellant, v. CORBETT CANNING COMPANY, Inc., and The Travelers Insurance Company, Respondents. |
Dawes & Dawes, Loris, D. Frank McGougan, Tabor City, for appellant.
Willcox, Hardee, Houck & Palmer, Florence, for respondents.
This is a workmen's compensation case wherein claimant appeals to this Court from an order of the Honorable G. Badger Baker, Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, reversing the order and award of the South Carolina Industrial Commission; and determination of whether there is competent evidence to support the findings of the Industrial Commission will determine the issues before us.
The deceased, Walter E. Packer, an employee of the defendant, Corbett Canning Company, Inc., was found dead at approximately 7 A.M., on the morning of May 7, 1958, at his employer's place of business, lying on his left side with his right hand in his pocket and his left hand inside his overalls over his heart. His duties as a night watchman required him to be on duty from 9:30 P.M. until 6 A.M. The portion of the place of business where deceased was found was described as a shed with a concrete floor without side walls. On the night in question, there had been a severe electrical rainstorm. The floor was wet and where slight undulations occurred, water had accumulated. When found, deceased was lying with the lower portion of his body in water; and in the same puddle of water, approximately 6 feet from the body, was an electric cord. The cord was attached permanently to a sump pump used for the purpose of filling the boiler. There was no switch on the pump or the cord, but the pump was started by the cord being plugged into an electrical socket located 3 or 4 feet from the floor on a post, approximately 15 feet distant, and stopped by removal of the plug from the socket.
An electrical inspector living in the neighborhood and one of the first on the scene stated that when he arrived he saw the cord lying in the water and investigated to see if it was charged with electricity before approaching the body. He found the cord disconnected at the post with the plug 'lying like it was pulled out laying down on--you know laying down on something or other, a box or a tray or something or other.' The end of the cord was 3 or 4 feet from the post where the socket was and approximately 12 feet from where the body lay. The cord was introduced into evidence and described as one 'like you have on lamps, just a regular lamp cord.'
Dr. Ross M. Williamson, who viewed the body before removal, testified:
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Dr. B. B. Andrews, the pathologist, testified:
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It is by now well established that the burden is upon claimant to prove such facts as will render the injury compensable within the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act, Code 1952, § 72-1 et seq., and such award must not be based upon surmise, conjecture or speculation, Leonard v. Georgetown County, 230 S.C. 388, 95 S.E.2d 777; Broughton v. South Carolina Game & Fish Department, 219 S.C. 50, 64 S.E.2d 152; Mims v. Nehi Bottling Co., 218 S.C. 513, 63 S.E.2d 305; Brady v. Sacony of St. Matthews, 232 S.C. 84, 101 S.E.2d 50; Foyler v. Abbott Motor Co., 236 S.C. 226, 113 S.E.2d 737.
In Steed v. Mount Pleasant Seafood Company, 236 S.C. 253, 113 S.E.2d 827, 828, this Court stated:
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Jennings v. Chambers Development Co.
...where his duty required him to be, is injured in the course of, and as a consequence of, his employment. Packer v. Corbett Canning Co., 238 S.C. 431, 436, 120 S.E.2d 398, 400 (1961). The presumption is applied simply to establish that the injury occurred in the course of and as a consequenc......
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Turner v. Saiia Constr.
...set forth its standard of review, and responded to Turner's reliance on prior case law. Turner relied on Packer v. Corbett Canning Co. , 238 S.C. 431, 120 S.E.2d 398 (1961) and Owens v. Ocean Forest Club , 196 S.C. 97, 12 S.E.2d 839 (1941), to establish he suffered from a compensable work r......
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Kennedy v. Williamsburg County
...232 S.C. 392, 102 S.E.2d 373; Glover v. Columbia Hospital of Richland County, 236 S.C. 410, 114 S.E.2d 565; Packer v. Corbett Canning Co., Inc., 238 S.C. 431, 120 S.E.2d 398. It is also well settled that findings of fact are within the exclusive domain of the Industrial Commission and the C......
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Gosnell v. Bryant, 17905
...of St. Matthews, 232 S.C. 84, 101 S.E.2d 50; Glover v. Columbia Hospital, 231 S.C. 410, 114 S.E.2d 565; and Packer v. Corbett Canning Co., Inc., 238 S.C. 431, 120 S.E.2d 398. We have likewise held that it is the exclusive function of the Industrial Commission to settle questions of fact. Th......