57 A.2d 714 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1947
Argued November 19, 1947. In this workmen's compensation case the employer appeals from the dismissal of its petition to terminate a compensation agreement for total disability. The referee, the board, and the court below all agreed the dismissal of the petition was proper.
The claimant was employed as a carpenter for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company and, in the course of his employment on July 30, 1938, was jacking "I" beams on top of a coal tipple when a wooden supporting strut accidentally broke, striking both of claimant's legs. As a result, he sustained contusions of the *342 left lower leg, fracture of the internal malleolus and fracture of the distal third of the fibula of the right leg. After medical treatment for about five months, the claimant returned to his employment on December 27, 1938, and continued to work until July 6, 1939, when increasing pain necessitated his leaving work for almost one year, or until June 17, 1940. On that day he again resumed his work and pursued his employment until January 25, 1941, when the severity of the pain forced him to quit, and since that time he has been unable to work. The appellant concedes that the condition of the claimant's leg "is such that when he uses it for any length of time he suffers pain and is probably unable to follow his regular occupation."
The original compensation agreement was executed on February 8, 1939, and subsequent to respective intervening final receipts, compensation was twice reinstated by supplemental agreements. Under the compensation agreements as made, revived and reinstated, the claimant received total disability payments for a period of 248 6/7 weeks at the rate of $18.00 per week. On November 28, 1944, the employer filed its petition to terminate compensation because the injury has "resolved itself into a specific loss of the industrial use of the right leg" within the meaning of section 306(c) of the Workmen's Compensation Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended by the Act of June 4, 1937, P.L. 1552, Article III, section 306 (c),
This appeal poses for our determination questions as to the extent of claimant's injuries, and whether he should be compensated under section 306(c) of the Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended by the Act of June 4, 1937, P.L. 1552, Art. III, section 1,
Three medical experts supported the claimant. Dr. Paul H. Franklin testified claimant was totally disabled as a result of his accidental injury, which he described as resulting from a traumatic injury to the nerves of the leg, involving the sciatic nerve, marked by atrophy of the muscles of the right leg, and tenderness along the nerve track of the leg. Dr. S.M. Summerville testified that claimant was totally disabled from manual labor; that he operated upon claimant's leg and had removed scar tissues which had enveloped the anterior tibial nerve below the knee; that this scar tissue was traumatic in origin and was caused by pressure of the "cast" which was applied to claimant's leg after the accident. Dr. H.M. Wellman testified that the claimant's sciatic nerve involvement which followed about two years after the *345 accident, caused the pain in the claimant's hip and was related to the accidental injury of the foot.
There is little doubt the injury to the structure of the sciatic nerve brought persistent pain above the leg resulting in general weakness, diminution of nerve strength, loss of weight, loss of sleep and predisposition to fatigue. The physical structure of the body was affected in a manner not usually associated with accidents of this character and the sequalæ, in addition to the loss of the right leg, caused total disability. The medical testimony adduced by claimant supports the conclusion the body structure above the leg was permanently injured, either by the original trauma or by pressure of the "cast" damaging the sciatic nerve structurally. Moreover, on the defendant, who is seeking to change the status created by the parties themselves when they entered into their compensation agreement, rested the burden of proof to establish the averments in its petition to terminate, which it failed to discharge.
It was the function of the compensation authorities to pass upon the credibility of the witnesses, to resolve all conflicts in the testimony, and to determine the weight to be given the testimony of each witness including those who qualified as experts. "The medical testimony before the referee was conflicting, and it was for him and the board to appraise it and resolve the conflict. They must be left free to make their own findings and we have no right to tell them how they shall exercise that function. . . . The testimony need not be reviewed. It is enough to say that the two physicians called by claimant testified that the back sprain suffered by claimant at the time of the accident has progressed and become a chronic disability":Mouhat v. Board of Public Education of Pittsburgh,
That the claimant's injuries extended beyond the leg proper and affected the physical structure of claimant's body is amply supported by competent evidence. The *346
issue is factual and consequently for the compensation authorities whose findings cannot be disturbed. It follows that section 306(a),
Judgment is affirmed.