Jimeson v. Industrial Accident Commission

THE COURT.

The petitioner, A. J. Jimeson, was employed by the California Orchard Company as farm laborer on its ranch in Monterey County, and while traveling from the worksite on the ranch toward the ranch headquarters shortly before the noon hour, for lunch, he was badly injured in a traffic accident. He suffered a fractured skull, a brain injury, and sundry bruises and abrasions; and being unable

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to speak or write as the result of said injuries, his wife, in his behalf, filed with the Industrial Accident Commission an application for compensation. The State Compensation Insurance Fund was the insurance carrier, and the commission sustained its contention that Jimeson was barred by the so-called going and coming rule from recovering any of the benefits afforded by the compensation act. Thereupon this proceeding was instituted in Jimeson’s behalf for the purpose of annulling the decision of the commission.

The ranch is situate seven miles north of King City. It contains many hundreds of acres, and a stretch of it extends to and borders on the westerly side of the state highway for a distance of about two-thirds of a mile. Much of the ranch is devoted to the growing of fruit, the orchards being located on different parts of the ranch some distance from each other. The ranch headquarters are located at the southeasterly corner of the ranch, near the state highway, and consist of an administration building, barns, garages, etc.; also bunk houses and a number of cottages where the employees live. The employees were required to report at headquarters each morning at

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o’clock for assignment to work; and as part of the employment agreement the company transported the men in trucks from headquarters to the worksite, brought them back to headquarters for lunch, returned them to the worksite after lunch, and brought them in to headquarters at the close of the day’s work. However, the men were not obliged to ride in the trucks. If they chose, they were permitted by the company to drive their own automobiles; but no allowances were made therefor, the only difference being that if they used their own conveyances and were late for work their pay was docked. Pursuant to this arrangement some of the men, including Jimeson, invariably used their own automobiles. The reason therefor was that the trucks were open and not provided with seats, and during the summer months the roads throughout the ranch over which they traveled were dusty, and during the winter season it was too cold to ride in the open trucks.