Opinion by
These appeals are from a judgment under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act of June 18,1923, P. L.
Workmen’s compensation, in essence, is a part of a social insurance plan which also includes old age and unemployment insurance. Its operation has proven of tremendous benefit both to employe and employer. The purpose of the Act is to afford a workman protection against injuries, and to give relief in case of accident by way of accident insurance in place of common law rights. Proceedings for the adjustment of compensation claims when the parties interested agree upon the amount payable, and the enforcement of liability in case of disagreement, are outlined in the Act. The methods adopted, the practice and procedure followed are contrary to the ordinary rules of the common law.
For administration purposes the State is divided into districts, with a referee or referees in each district, a district consisting of certain designated counties. The Workmen’s Compensation Board consists of a chairman and three members, one of whom, the Secretary of Labor and Industry, is an ex officio member who does not vote on orders, decisions or awards. The Act provides that jurisdiction of all cases arising under the compensation law is vested in these Referees and the Board. Such jurisdiction cannot be changed or enlarged by contract or consent.
The courts of common pleas are without jurisdiction in compensation cases, except on appeal. The parties are not entitled to a jury trial, and jurisdiction cannot be conferred upon the court by stipulation.
The rights and obligations of the parties are determinable, under the Act, (a) by agreement and (b) a claim petition, heard initially before a Referee or Board.
If the parties cannot agree, the employe is required to file, within one year, a claim petition which is forwarded to the Bureau at Harrisburg. This petition will then be assigned to the Referee of the proper district and notice served upon the parties. The defendant must then file his answer to the petition with the Referee. After a hearing the Referee files his report Avith the department, and the case is reviewed by the Board which files its report. An appeal may then be taken to the court of Common Pleas. A further appeal may thereafter be taken to the Superior Court, and to the Supreme Court, if specially allowed. Appeals to the Superior Court, in these cases, are regardless of the amount involved.
Compensation agreements are provided for in the Act. On or after the seventh day of disability, after an accident occurs, the employer and employe, or the dependents in a fatal case, may execute an agreement for the payment of compensation which is forwarded to the Bureau for approval. Approval notices are mailed to the claimant and defendant by the Bureau. Such agreements are specifically regulated both as to substance and form by the various statutes, and the agreements must be approved by the Department and filed therein.
The applicable statutes and a host of cases supporting the foregoing may be found in the authoritative encyclopedic treatise of William A. Skinner, Esq., titled “The Workmen’s Compensation Law of Pennsylvania” (2 volumes, fourth edition).
In the case now before us, the widow of the deceased injured Avorkman and the employer executed a com
With the record in this position the insurance carrier filed a petition under the Declaratory Judgments Act, supra. The learned court below entertained the petition. It ruled that the agreement was valid and directed the widow to file with the prothonotary a certified copy of the agreement and the Board’s order approving the same. This appeal followed.
It is appellant’s contention that the compensation agreement, so approved and filed, is void and inoperative under the terms of the Act.
Compensation agreements are specifically provided for in The Workmen’s Compensation Act. An agreement permitting a commutation of payments contrary to the provisions of the Act, or varying the amount to be paid, or the period during which compensation shall be payable, is wholly null and void:
Bair v. Susquehanna Collieries Company,
The Amending Act of 1939, June 21, P. L. 520, 77 PS 602 (pocket part) provides that agreements relating to compensation for death must be executed within one year of death. But as pointed out by Judge Richards in the mandamus case, supra, “when one party has deluded the other to the advantage of the first and to the hurt of the second” the claim is not barred by limitation:
Horn v. Lehigh Talley Railroad Co.,
In specified circumstances the Board, or a Referee designated by the Board, may, at any time, review and modify or set aside an original or supplemental agreement, upon petition filed by either party: Act 1939, June 21, P. L. 520, 77 PS 771, p. 193 (pocket part). This reads: “The board, or a referee designated by the board, may, at any time, review and modify or set aside an original or supplemental agreement, upon petition filed by either party with the board or in the course of the proceedings under any petition pending before such board or referee, if it be proved that such agreement was procured by the fraud, coercion, or other improper conduct of a party, or was founded upon a mistake of law or of fact. . .
The validity of the agreement, or whether it has become ineffective because of the statutory limitation concerning time of filing, or of its proper execution, is a mixed question of faet and law.
A reading of the statute and its many amendments makes it manifest that the legislation relating to workmen’s compensation was designed and intended to establish exclusive jurisdiction, practice and procedure in all matters pertaining to such subject matter. It is clear that the jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas and of the appellate courts relates solely to
review
on appeal. The statutory provisions relate to both cases
commenced by petition
and to
agreements for compensation.
The common pleas court below, therefore, possessed no
The appeal is quashed and the judgment of the court below is vacated.