Fidelity & Casualty Co. of New York v. Industrial Accident Commission

RICHARDS, J., pro tem.

This is an application for a writ of review after an award by the Industrial Accident Commission in favor of one Lester M. DeWitt against his employers, Jacoby Brothers, a corporation, and its insurer, The Fidelity

&

Casualty Company of New York, a corporation, the petitioners herein.

The facts of the ease upon which it is alleged by the petitioners that the commission arrived at an erroneous conclusion as a matter of law are set forth in the findings of the commission, which it is conceded there was evidence adduced before it sufficient to support. Said findings are as follows:

“1. That Lester M. DeYfitt, applicant herein, was injured by accident on the 7th day of January, 1914, while in the

[615]

employment of defendant Jacoby Brothers, and that said accident arose out of and happened in the course of said employment and in the manner following:

“a. Said Lester M. DeWitt was for about two years prior to the happening of said accident a show card sign writer, and, the better to shade in colors in the artistic writing of said cards, he was, and for about one and one-half years had been, in the habit of using dyes dissolved in wood alcohol and forced through a fine needle by air pressure.

“b. That ordinarily he used this appliance only a very small portion of time, but during the holidays immediately preceding said accident there was a very much greater use of (this) apparatus, and, directly after the holidays, when the pressure of work had somewhat slackened said DeWitt used an extraordinary quantity of wood alcohol in cleaning the apparatus and in washing and cleaning his

hands;

that he used such extraordinary quantity by pouring it on cloths.

“e. That on the 7th of January said DeWitt had not noticed anything the matter with his eyesight but, on that day, he suddenly found that his vision was very greatly affected and went to see an oculist who fitted him with glasses but told him that glasses would do him very little good because there was a degeneration of the optic nerves.