Ocean Accident & Guarantee Corp. v. Industrial Accident Commission

MARKS, J. This is an original proceeding to review an award of the Industrial Accident Commission made on October 16, 1939, giving J. Warren Little medical treatment and [603]disability indemnity of $19.24 per week for an injury found to have been suffered by him on February 3, 1939, while employed by A. Matthews who conducted his business under the name of City Pharmacy.

Petitioner urges the following grounds for annulment of the award :• (1) The evidence is insufficient to support the commission’s finding that Little suffered any compensable injury on February 3, 1939; (2) petitioner suffered prejudice because of the commission separating the original claim into separate claims for separate injuries and in failing to give petitioner any notice of a claim “filed June 15, 1939, as of June 5, 1939”.

The hearing before the commission was held on June 5, 1939. Petitioner was represented by counsel. The evidence consisted of the testimony of Little and a letter written to petitioner by Dr. F. L. R. Burks on February 10, 1939, who, at the request of petitioner, had examined Little on that day.

Little testified that in January, 1938, while working in the City Pharmacy he hit his left knee on a drawer pull; that his knee hurt him for ten or fifteen minutes; that a short time later his knee “started popping”; that he consulted a physician who prescribed wearing an “ace bandage” which he did for about four months; that there was no pain in the knee but that it continued popping and there was a “slight catch” in it a couple of times; that it did not lock until February 3, 1939; that on that date while Little was stooping over the knee locked for the first time; that it locked on other occasions after that date; that he lost no time from his employment because of the injury.

We quote the following from the letter of Dr. Burks:

“About two weeks ago he squatted down and there was a popping in the knee, the knee locked and he could not straighten up. After a little manipulation he was able to straighten the leg. The knee was locked on two occasions. . . . Left Knee. There is no swelling or discoloration. Extension is normal. Flexion is normal. There is no lateral or anterior-posterior preternatural mobility. When pressure is made over the internal semilunar or cartilage he complains of some slight discomfort. When the patient is in a squatting position with weight bearing there is a loud popping sound in the left knee. This is greatly accentuated as he balances