Daniels v. Industrial Accident Commission

PEEK, J.

Petitioners, the surviving widow and daughter of Jesse Daniels, seek review of a finding of the Industrial Accident Commission that his death did not arise out of the course of his employment and of the subsequent decision denying them an award.

Daniels was employed by the Turlock Irrigation District as a trouble shooter. His duties included the repair of his employer’s facilities such as transformers, meters, etc., as well as all types of electrical appliances and occasionally included the climbing of poles. On a windy and quite cold afternoon he and a coworker were engaged in climbing poles about 35 or 40 feet above the ground and pulling lines so as to take the slack out of the primary wires. While on the third pole, Daniels began coughing and then vomited blood. The coworker saw Daniels’ body go limp and fall “back in his safety belt.” He was removed from the pole and transported to a hospital in Turlock where he died that same evening.

A doctor who had treated Daniels for a stomach disorder in 1953 found no indication of heart trouble when he gave him a physical examination at that time. On the day of his death he told his wife that he hadn’t felt better in weeks, and a few minutes before he became ill he told his eoworker that “he felt better than he felt for several days.”

The attending physician was unable to make a definite diagnosis, but noted that the possibilities included acute coronary thrombosis or acute pulmonary embolism. An electrocardiogram showed changes suggesting the possibility of acute coronary thrombosis. Since the cause of death was

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not definitely established, a post mortem was performed by the coroner, Dr. Ransom. He testified that he found that the lungs were dark and passive congested. He stated the cause of death was a ruptured tricuspid valve which in his opinion was due to strain imposed on the heart by the congestion of the lungs. He also said that the physical strain of work was a factor in the lung congestion. The death certificate stated the cause of death to be “Rupture of Tricuspid Valve from massive passive congestion of complete lung tissue.”

A Dr. Smith who was called by the insurer testified that a diagnosis was not possible on the information available. He was of the opinion that if the valve had ruptured, it was a diseased valve. He suggested that further pathological examination would be of value to determine the cause of death. At the conclusion of Dr. Smith’s direct examination, the hearing was adjourned without cross-examination by petitioners’ counsel.