Ruggieri v. Bristol Manufacturing Corp.
Ruggieri v. Bristol Manufacturing Corp.
Opinion of the Court
This is an original petition for compensation under the workmen’s compensation act. The cause is here on the petitioner’s appeal from a decree of the workmen’s compensation commission affirming a decree of the trial commissioner denying and dismissing the petition.
The petitioner claims that his attack was referable to his employment and was precipitated directly as a result of the particular act he was doing when he felt a pain in his chest and broke out in a cold sweat. He testified at the hearing before the trial commissioner that a couple of minutes before the onset of the attack he lifted from the floor to his work table a box of rubber heels which weighed about 30 to 35 pounds. He further testified that he had so informed the plant nurse, Dr. Beck and another doctor at the hospital who took the medical history at the time of his admission.
The plant nurse, Victoria Balzano, testified that she asked petitioner what had happened and that he said he was feeling very ill and gave no history of an industrial injury. She was then asked, “Did he say anything about picking up a box at the time that he suffered this attack?” She answered, “No, not to me.” Although petitioner was positive that he told Dr. Beck about picking up the box the doctor could not recall the details of what petitioner might have been doing at the time except that he did say the attack occurred while he was at work, early that morning.
The doctor at the hospital who took petitioner’s history was Dr. Hoffman. Such history appears in evidence as respondent’s exhibit A and contains no reference to petitioner’s lifting a box. It reads “ 'Cold’ two weeks ago charac
Joseph Borges, a fellow employee, testified for petitioner that he saw him picking up a box and that just as he got it to the table petitioner turned white as a sheet. Borges testified further that the first time he discussed with anyone the matter of petitioner’s attack was about three weeks before he testified on July 15, 1959 when he discussed it with Mr. Caldaresso of the local union. However, Eugene T. Reynolds testified on behalf of respondent that he had interviewed Borges on April 23, 1959 about petitioner’s attack and that Borges stated to him, “I know nothing of Mr. Ruggieri picking up a box, in fact, I didn’t even know him.”
Doctor Botelho testified that what petitioner was doing when the attack occurred had a probable relationship to the attack. He testified that petitioner was acutely ill when he attended him, that he asked him a “few brief questions,” and that “He stated he had a cold for the last two or three weeks, little cough mostly at night, and that- in the morning of — that morning he had gone to work as usual and when he was picking up a box that he described as 50 to 60 pounds, he felt a crushing substernal; I mean, the chest and felt sweaty, white and fainty and was brought home.” This is supposed to be what petitioner said, but the doctor had no record of such conversation except a letter to peti
On this state of the evidence the trial commissioner decided that petitioner had failed to prove by a fair preponderance of the credible evidence that he sustained a personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment and referable thereto. The full commission expressly approved such negative finding and stated in their decision that there was an abundance of testimony and inferences therefrom to support it.
The petitioner contends here that the commission erred and has prosecuted thirteen specific reasons of appeal from the final decree which they entered upon such decision. However, in his brief he has compressed his reasons into three contentions, namely, that such decision and decree are against the law, contrary to the evidence, and based upon a misconstruction of the medical evidence. In the brief and in his oral argument petitioner has not discussed those contentions separately but has more or less merged them into each other to show the error which he claims infects the decision and decree. We shall hereinafter treat them in like manner.
In the first place we must stress the point that petitioner here has the burden of proof. Bahry v. City Fabrics, Inc., 80 R. I. 411. He must prove by a fair preponderance of the evidence that he sustained an injury which arose out of and in the course of his employment and was referable thereto. Whether the evidence he has adduced discharged that burden is solely for the commission to decide since by force’ of the workmen’s compensation act their findings of fact are final and conclusive. This includes questions of credibility of the witnesses and the drawing of inferences from evidence, disputed or undisputed. Parmentier v. Moore Fabric Co., 71 R. I. 369; St. Goddard v. Potter & Johnson Machine Co., 69 R. I. 90.
In the case at bar there is evidence from which the work
In the absence of proof that the lifting of the box occurred at the time of petitioner’s attack there is no evidence tending to show a chain of causation between petitioner’s work and his heart attack. The medical testimony of Dr. Botelho on this score is the only evidence which petitioner presented and it was of such a nature that it must have weighed very lightly if at all with the commission. We are unable to see wherein there was any misconception by the commission of such testimony. Nor do we understand that they were misled into following an erroneous rule of law requiring medical certainty contrary to Valente v. Bourne Mills, 77 R. I. 274, or Emma v. A. D. Juilliard & Co., 75 R. I. 94, which the petitioner cites. Neither case presented a situation comparable to that in the instant case, especially in view of the element of lack of credibility in the petitioner’s testimony and that of his witness Borges. Therefore, we are of the opinion that there is no merit in the petitioner’s contentions.
The petitioner’s appeal is denied and dismissed, the decree appealed from is affirmed, and the cause is remanded to the workmen’s compensation commission for further proceedings.
On Motion for Reargument.
After our decision in the above cause was
We have carefully considered those reasons and are of the opinion that they suggest nothing which in the circumstances warrants a reargument.
Motion denied.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John Ruggieri v. Bristol Manufacturing Corporation
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- 1 case
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- Published