Rodriguez v. Industrial Accident Commimssion

TYLER, P. J.

Petition for a writ of review for the purpose of determining the lawfulness of an original award made by the' Industrial Accident Commission in favor of respondents, and denying petitioners compensation for the death of one Joseph Rodriguez. The petition is also for the purpose of having determined the lawfulness of the order of the Commission denying applicants’ petition for a rehearing in the matter of the award.

The applicants are the parents and the minor brothers and sisters of deceased, who' was seventeen years of age and was employed by respondent, Pacific Box Company, at its plant located at San Francisco. Both the employer and employee were subject to the provisions of the Compensation Act (Stats. 1917, p. 831), and the employer was insured against liability by respondent Federal Mutual Liability Insurance Company.

On the eleventh day of December deceased, while attending to his duties in operating a circular saw, was injured, so it is alleged, by a piece of timber which had caught in some machinery in the vicinity of where he was working and thrown in the air in his direction. Shortly thereafter he sank to the floor on his hands and knees. No one saw him struck. lie was conveyed to a hospital, where he was

[143]

attended by a physician within a half hour after the accident. No indications of bruising or violence were noted at any time upon his body except that he had a laceration of the face about half an inch long. The examining physician found him dazed and suspected a fracture of the skull. His blood pressure was abnormally high. The abdomen was examined and found to be rigid. After examination the physician diagnosed the case as a rupture of some abdominal organ with hemorrhage into the abdominal cavity. An operation was performed about four hours after the accident, and upon opening the abdomen a large amount of cloudy fluid was found in the abdominal cavity, indicating a diseased condition. An examination disclosed no rupture of the stomach or other abdominal organ. No indication was found of any ruptured blood vessel bleeding into the abdominal cavity and the color of the fluid did not indicate a fresh hemorrhage. Pneumonia developed the day following the operation, which, complicated by acute peritonitis, caused death on December 13th.