New Amsterdam Casualty Co. v. Freeland
New Amsterdam Casualty Co. v. Freeland
Concurring Opinion
concurring specially. • While the case of Macon, Dublin &c. R. Co. v. Porter, 195 Ga. 40 (22 S. E. 2d 818) leaves in doubt the decision‘as to whether'a child legally adopted by both an adopting mother and father would1 be entitled to recover for the homicide of the natural father-under Code § 105-1302, this doubt in' my opinion has- been clearly resolved in the later case of Sears v. Minchew, 212 Ga. 417 (93 S. E. 2d 746), by Chief'Justice Duckworth, who in considering the 1949 amend
■“It is insisted that the 1949 amendment -to the adoption law repealed -by implication the right of the child to inherit from its natural parents; since the adoption statute as amended fully replaced the natural parent or parents with the adopting parents, and by such laws the adopted child is deemed to- be ‘a natural child of petitioner or petitioners’ for adoption-. This amendment clarified the rights of the child adopted, but it certainly did not intend to take from that child any rights it already had. Nor does the adoption statute fully replace the natural relationship- with a new set of parents with 'all the-rights and benefits of- the natural parents, since'the statute clearly points out that the petitioner or petitioners may nevef inherit from the child. The argument 'is also'made that'the result is that the adopted child'would have two--sets of-parents.' Certainly a child would have under this law, natural parents, which he must have to come into this world, and adopted parents, who-have been given certain -legal rights, although-the natural parents would no longer be held legally íésponsible for the child’s care and welfare-; but the law cannot abrogate the actual birth and blood relationship between them. ' ' ■
While this opinion specifically was in reference to the right of a child to inherit from its natural parents under the common-law rights of descent and distribution as codified in the Georgia law, the case clearly enunciated the principle applicable here that the adoption of the amendment of 1949 did not intend to take away from the adoptive child any rights it already had.
Obviously, when this adopted child was born, it possessed the rights granted to it as a child by Code § 105-1302. Applying Chief Justice Duckworth’s opinion as to this right, the amendment of 1949 did not take this right away from him. Accordingly, the child was authorized to recover for the wrongful death of its father under Code § 105-1302. By the same analogy the conclusive presumption authorized for the child under Code § 114-414 became available to the child at its birth and would not be taken away from him by the amendment of 1949 to the adoption statutes.
Accordingly, as Judge Nichols points out in the majority opinion, since Code § 114-103 prohibits a child or children from bringing an action for common-law negligence against the employer, which right the child or children would otherwise have, it would have the right to be awarded compensation under the Workmen’s, Compensation Act where the natural father was admittedly killed as.a result of a compensable accident.
Opinion of the Court
The sole question presented by the appeal is whether or not, under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, the natural children of an employee, who has been killed as the result of an injury arising, out of and in the course of his employment (where such children are otherwise entitled to. compensation as the result of such death), are entitled to compensation where prior to the employee’s death such children have been legally adopted by a third person.
In Sears v. Minchew, 212 Ga. 417 (2) (93 S. E. 2d 746), it was held that the adoption laws of Georgia do not divest the right of a child to, inherit from its natural father where such child has been legally adopted by a third person before the death of the father. In Travelers Ins. Co. v. Williamson, 35 Ga. App. 214 (132 S. E. 265), which involved a situation where the natural father was killed in a compensable accident after he and the children’s mother had been divorced (the mother having remarried), and such children’s support was supplied in part by the natural father and in part by the stepfather, it was held that the children were entitled to compensation under the Workmen’s
Under Code § 105-1302 an adopted child may sue for the full value of' the life of his natural father; however, such child as next of kin cannot maintain an action against his father’s employer for 'the homicide of his father where such homicide arose out of and in the course of the'employment of the father where the employer and the employee are subjéct to the Workmen’s Compensation Act. Code §114-103; Wall v. J. W. Starr & Sons Lumber Co., 68 Ga. App. 552 (23 S. E. 2d 452), and citations.
Therefore, since Code § 114-414 (c)- provides that the children of the deceased employee who are under 18 years o-f age are conclusively presumed to be dependent on such deceased employee, and since Code § 114-103," supra, prohibits such child or children from bringing an action for common-law negligence against the employer, Which right the child or children would otherwise have, the judgment of the Superior Court of Telfair County in the present case affirming the award' of compensation by the full board to the children of the deceased employee, who was admittedly killed as the result' of compensable • accident, was not error for any reason assigned.
Judgment affirmed:
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. Code § 114-414 provides that “child” shall include legally adopted children and that “parent” shall include parents by adoption. The compensation law is based on dependency under legal obligation where presumptive dependency is not provided. Under the adoption law (Code, Ann., § 74-414), an adopted child bears the relation of child to the adopting parent and all legal obligations between
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.