Chester v. Douglas County
Chester v. Douglas County
Opinion of the Court
This is a workmen’s compensation case. The employer, Douglas County, has appealed from a judgment of the District Court for Douglas County, affirming, with modification, an award of the Workmen’s Compensation Court to the plaintiff.
The plaintiff, Kathleen H. Chester, began work as a nurse’s aide at the Douglas County Hospital on September 18, 1972. On the morning of September 22, 1972, she went to the dining area to get some fruit juice for one of her patients. She testified that on her way out of the dining area she slipped and fell. There was a clear liquid on the floor in the area where she fell. There were no eyewitnesses to the actual fall, but another employee
There was no evidence of permanent physical disability. There was medical evidence that plaintiff had either a back sprain or strain or that plaintiff’s condition and subjective complaints may have been due to conversion hysteria. There was no objective evidence of any physical injury of a permanent nature.
The one-judge Workmen’s Compensation Court entered an award for temporary total disability for an aggregate period of ,13 4/7 weeks; and for the payment of specified hospital and medical bills; and also included a penalty of 50 percent of all delinquent installments of compensation for waiting time; plus an attorney’s fee.
The three-judge Workmen’s Compensation Court af
On appeal to this court the defendant contends that the evidence and findings of fact in the record do not support the judgment. Essentially, the defendant’s position is that the evidence is insufficient to prove that plaintiff sustained personal injury from an accident arising out of and in the course of employment, and that subjective symptoms apparent only to the injured person are insufficient to establish a compensable disability.
The Workmen’s Compensation Act does not require that the objective symptoms of an injury produced at the time of the accident be observed by others or that their existence be proved by independent testimony. Gifford v. Ag Lime, Sand & Gravel Co., 187 Neb. 57, 187 N. W. 2d 285.
On appeal of a workmen’s compensation case to the Supreme Court, if there is reasonable competent evidence to support the findings of fact in the trial court, the judgment, order, or award will not be modified or set aside for insufficiency of the evidence. Gifford v. Ag Lime, Sand & Gravel Co., supra.
The findings of fact in this case are supported by the record and the judgment of the District Court is affirmed. An attorney’s fee of $500 is allowed to plaintiff’s attorney for services in this court.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Kathleen H. Chester v. Douglas County, Nebraska
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published