Guarantee Insurance v. Industrial Accident Commission

BARNARD, P. J. In this proceeding the petitioner, which is the insurance carrier for Webb Packing Company, seeks to annul an award of the respondent commission based on the death of Ruperto Corona Murrillo.

In the fall of 1947, the Webb Packing Company made an arrangement with one Romero with respect to harvesting an orange crop on its grove near Lindsay. Under this arrangement, Romero was paid 3% cents per box for supervising the picking crew, for loading the fruit on trucks, and for transporting the workers between their camp at Lindsay and the place of employment. In addition, Romero was paid 4 cents per box for hauling the fruit from the grove to the packing shed. This 4 cents was for hauling alone, and Romero was to pay any costs of loading out of the 3% cents. Webb was to pay the pickers 15 cents per box.

The work began on November 3, 1947, Murrillo being one of the crew of workers. He worked as a picker parts of each day, until November 7. Romero selected his own loaders, taking men from the picking crew, and paying them 80 cents per hundred boxes for loading. He chose Murrillo for this purpose, at times during the five days, and Murrillo had thus earned $17.42 for loading during that period. It appears without dispute that Romero hired, supervised and paid these loaders and that Webb had no control over the loading operations and did not know what Romero paid the loaders.

On November 7, Murrillo worked both as a picker and as such a loader. After picking had been discontinued for the day and most of the pickers had been sent back to camp in other trucks, Murrillo remained and assisted in loading the truck involved here. After this loading was finished Murrillo got on the truck and Romero drove it along a highway en route to the packing shed, which seems to have been in the same general direction as the labor camp. The only evidence is that Romero intended to stop at the packing shed and, after unloading, to take Murrillo to the camp. While thus en route to the packing shed and thence to the camp Murrillo’s hat blew off. He jumped from the moving truck to retrieve his hat, fell under the wheels and was killed.

A claim was filed with the respondent commission, a number of defendants were added, and several hearings were held. In the resulting findings and award it was found that Murrillo ’s fatal injury arose out of, and in the course of, his employment by the Webb Packing Company and a death [48]benefit was awarded to his dependents as against this petitioner, the proceeding being dismissed as to the other defendants. A rehearing was denied and this application for a writ of review followed.