National Automobile Insurance v. Industrial Accident Commission

CURTIS, J. This proceeding was instituted for the purpose of setting aside an award of the Industrial Accident Commission in favor of one T. Ashida and against the petitioner herein, the National Automobile Insurance Company, the insurance carrier to the employer of T. Ashida. The employer of T. Ashida was S. Murata, doing business under the name of S. Murata & Co. Murata’s business was that of wholesale florist, which was carried on at 767-69 South Wall Street in the city of Los Angeles. On the day of Ashida’s injury, he was to report to his employer’s place of business at 3 A. M. His business was to purchase flowers for his employer. He had been told by his employer on the previous day not to purchase any flowers on this particular morning until he met his employer, and to wait at the store until Murata arrived. On this morning, Ashida on his way to work was passed by Murata in the latter’s car driving southerly and in the same direction in which Ashida was walking. Murata evidently did not see Ashida as he passed him and continued on his way toward the store without speaking to Ashida, or giving any indication that he saw him. When Ashida reached the place of business of his employer, Murata was not there. Ashida attended to some minor duties, and waited about fifteen minutes for Murata to arrive. As the latter did not put in an appearance at the store, Ashida set out in search of him. While pursuing his search, and when he was some two or three blocks from the store of his employer, he was set upon by robbers, who beat him severely, inflicting serious injuries upon him and robbing him of his money. Upon this state of facts, the commission found that the injuries sustained by Ashida “arose out of and in the course of his employment”, and made the award of compensation in his favor, which petitioner asks to have set aside by this proceeding.

The facts of this case are strikingly similar to those recited in the cases of Lumbermen’s Mutual Casualty Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 134 Cal. App. 131 [25 Pac. (2d) 22], where the employee arrived at the place of employment at 7 o’clock A. M., and was told that he could not commence work until certain boxes arrived. While waiting for the boxes, he crossed the road and was struck by a passing auto[717]mobile. An award was made in his behalf, bnt it was annulled by this court. In doing so the court held as follows: “It is well established that there must be some causal connection between the injury and the employment so that the injury may be found to have resulted from some risk of the employment. ... It must be conceded that Wilson (the injured employee) was required to remain near the grove in which he was to pick while waiting for the boxes. He was not required to go into the street, nor did any of his duties require him to loiter in the highway in which he was injured. Nevertheless, he chose this road as his waiting place and was injured by an automobile being driven along this street. We have concluded that the injury must be attributed to a ‘risk of the street’ and not to a risk of employment.’’