Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. v. Commonwealth
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation (employer) appeals from a decision of the Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board (Board) awarding compensation to John Andrachek, Jr. (claimant) for disfigurement on the right side of his nose as a result of blisters occurring from the extreme heat on three separate dates in his work as blast furnace first helper.
The referee disallowed compensation on the ground that “extreme heat and burns are incidental to claimant’s employment.”
The Board set aside that finding of the referee and made its own finding “that extreme heat and burns are not incidental to claimant’s employment. ...” The Board concluded that claimant was entitled to compensation.
This case is governed by the same statutory and case law as that applicable in a companion case, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board, 41 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 279, 398 A.2d 1107 (1979), which was consolidated for argument with the present case.
Here, however, the referee, as well as the Board, found that there was disfigurement, so that the only issue, under Section 306(c) (22) of The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act,
The Board, however, correctly distinguished the present disfigurement from the previous burns.
Therefore, the Board’s deletion and substitution of findings was proper because there was a capricious disregard of competent evidence by the referee. See Kimbob Corp. v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 12 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 92, 315 A.2d 304 (1974).
Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Board.
Order
And Now, this 15th day of March, 1979, the order of the Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, Docket No. A-73322, dated April 13, 1978, reversing the referee’s decision, is hereby affirmed. Accordingly, it is ordered that judgment be entered in favor of John Andraehek, Jr. and against Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation, and/or its insurance carrier,' in the sum of $187.00 per week for a period of ten weeks,beginning July 4, 1976. Interest, payable by Wheeling-
Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended.
Both the referee and the Board, in their findings here, use the word “burns” instead of the term “scars” or • “disfigurement,” as being incidental or not incidental to employment. However, unlike the companion case, the distinction is immaterial here because, in this case, both the referee and Board agreed that disfigurement, i.e., scarring, was actually suffered.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.