Dripps v. Industrial Commission
Dripps v. Industrial Commission
Concurring Opinion
concurring. Most of the previous decisions of and pronouncements of law by this court support paragraph one of the syllabus of the instant case. See also Artis v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., post, 412. However, there is at least one decision of this court which cannot be reconciled with paragraph one of the syllabus in the instant case. See Maynard v. B. F. Goodrich Co., 144 Ohio St., 22, 56 N. E. (2d), 195, and paragraph two of the syllabus therein. (See also Malone v. Industrial Commission, 140 Ohio St., 292, 43 N. E. [2d], 266, and paragraphs three and four of the syllabus therein. But see paragraphs one and two of that syllabus.) It has been suggested that there is no statutory or constitutional basis for a conclusion that, in order to be an “injury” within the meaning of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, “a physical or traumatic damage or harm” must be “accidental in its character in the sense of being the result of a sudden mishap occurring by chance, unexpectedly and not in the usual course of events, at a particular time and place’’’ (or, in other words, the result of accidental means), instead of being merely “accidental in character and result.” See Johnson v. Industrial Commission, 164 Ohio St., 297, 306, 130 N. E. (2d), 807; Renkel v. Industrial Commission, 109 Ohio St., 152, 156, 141 N. E., 834. However, there is statutory language which tends to support the pronouncement of law being made in paragraph one of the syllabus of the instant case. See for example Sections 4123.28 (“accident resulting in * * * injury”) and 4123.22 (“accidents leading to injuries for which awards * * * made”), Revised Code. As I view it, to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith Malone v. Industrial Commission, supra, and Maynard v. B. F. Goodrich Co., supra, are being overruled
Opinion of the Court
The sole question presented on this appeal is whether claimant sustained an injury within the contemplation of the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
The question as to the meaning of the term, “injury,” has been before this court many times, and it has been consistently held that to be compensable an injury must be accidental in origin and result.
In Toth v. Standard Oil Co., 160 Ohio St., 1, 113 N. E. (2d), 81, we held:
“The term, ‘injury,’ as used in the Ohio Workmen’s Compensation Act, comprehends a physical or traumatic damage or harm, accidental in its character in the sense of being the result of a sudden mishap occurring by chance, unexpectedly and not in the usual course of events, at a particular time and place.”
It is clear that under Ohio law a workman is not entitled to workmen’s compensation for every sudden disability with which he is seized while engaged in the performance of his duties for his employer. Nelson v. Industrial Commission, 150 Ohio St., 1, 80 N. E. (2d), 430. For an employee to receive compensation
We come now to a consideration of the case presently before us. The record shows that, for a period of some nine weeks before the date of the injury, the claimant had been forced to use two spools to move the boom. At the time of the injury, claimant was performing the same work and in the same -manner as he had performed it daily for many weeks. Nothing unusual occurred, there was no sudden mishap. While performing his usual duties, claimant felt this sudden tingling in his arm which is stipulated to be “a strain in the left arm which has been determined to be a traumatic disturbance of the brachial plexis and further described as a sensory neuritis and impaired sensation involving the median nerve.” The mere sudden appearance of a disability during the course of his employment is insufficient to entitle a workman to participate in the State Insurance Fund; such injury must have been preceded by some sudden mishap, external in character, resulting in the disability. No such mishap was present in this case.
Judgment reversed.
Concurring Opinion
I concur in paragraph two of the syllabus and in the judgment but dissent from paragraph one of the syllabus. My dissent is based upon the fact that in defining compensable injury paragraph one of the syllabus makes accidental means a prerequisite to the compensability of accidental injury. As I conceive the law to be, as expressed by the holdings of this court since the amendment of Section 1465-68, General Code (117 Ohio Laws, 109), now Section 4123.01, Revised Code, making the term, “injury,” used in the statute to mean “any injury received in the course of and arising out of the injured employee’s employment, ’ ’ accidental means is no longer a prerequisite of a compensable accidental injury. See discussion in Malone v. Industrial Commission, 140 Ohio St., 292, at pages 296 to 300, 43 N. E. (2d), 266; and McNees v. Cincinnati St. Ry. Co., 80 N. E. (2d), 498, affirmed, 84 Ohio App., 499, 87 N. E. (2d), 819, reversed on other grounds, 152 Ohio St., 269, 89 N. E. (2d), 138, reversed on appeal after retrial, 90 Ohio App., 223, 275, 101 N. E. (2d), 1.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. In addition to what Judge Hart has said in his opinion, I would like to add the following observations :
It seems to me that the majority opinion in its plain implications, at least, represents a return to this court’s position prior to the amendment of old Section 1465-68, General Code. That statute as amended, presently Section 4123.01, Revised Code, defines “injury” as including licmy injury received in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee’s employment.”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.