180 A. 752 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1935
Argued April 22, 1935. Appellant's employee was awarded compensation by the referee, which was sustained by the compensation board and affirmed on appeal by the court of common pleas.
The referee made the third following finding of fact: "3. That on July 21, 1932, about eleven o'clock in the morning, while in the employ of the defendant company, the claimant attempted to move a basket filled with merchandise from the place where she was working, to place it back of the counter out of her way. The basket was heavy and it was necessary for her to partly lift and partly pull it; and while doing this she felt a sensation in her left arm as if her arm had been shocked by coming in contact with electricity. She was working her counter alone at this time and continued to perform her duties as best she could until she was relieved for lunch. About eleven forty-five, when she reported off for lunch, she told her immediate superior that she had injured herself. She was unable to eat any lunch that day, but reported back to work at her usual time. About three o'clock in the afternoon she again complained to her superior and asked permission to go to the washroom and bathe her arm in warm water. She applied home remedies and continued to work until July 29, 1932, on which date she ceased working and has been unable to work since. During this period between the date of the accident and the date she stopped working she was unable to wrap packages or tie them, this work being done for her by fellow employes. On August 25, 1932 she consulted Dr. S.S. *187 Steffler, whose examination revealed a definite involvement of the left ulnar nerve. The only objective evidence of injury at this time was slight swelling in the forearm on the extensor surface, although there was subjective evidence of nerve involvement in the nature of tenderness along the course of the ulnar nerve, pain at times along this nerve and a feeling of numbness extending from above the elbow down the arm into the little finger and the outer surface of the ring finger. From the evidence of record we find that these symptoms are the result of claimant's injury of July 21, 1932."
The testimony of Dr. Steffler in the record was to the effect that the pain in the arm resulted from the pulling of the basket and that the ulnar nerve is one of the most common nerves that is injured by traction.
Appellant's chief complaint is that "claimant's disability was not caused by an accident within the meaning of the Workmen's Compensation Act." Its argument is presented from two angles, first: there was no evidence that in pulling the basket the claimant was required or did exert any extra or unusual physical exertion and, second: that there is no evidence of a mishap, slip or a fortuitous or undesigned event in connection with the pulling of the basket. Granting that the finding of fact by the referee does not establish any extra or unusual effort, appellant overlooks the fact that an injury to the physical structure of the body may be an accident within the meaning of the workmen's compensation statutes even though incurred when performing labor in a usual manner and without over exertion: Betts v. American Stores Co.,
Appellant has stressed as controlling the following cases: Gausman v. Pearson,
Judgment affirmed.