274 Pa. 42 | Pa. | 1922
Opinion by
Plaintiff’s Misband died September 10, 1918, as tbe result of an accident received November 24, 1917. Tbe chairman of tbe Workmen’s Compensation Board states in bis opinion that claimant wrote to tbe board about presenting a claim against tbe defendant September 6, 1919. An answer was received by her, September 9, 1919, from an officer of tbe board, stating, “I am sending you blank form of claim petition, which must be mailed to Harrisburg on September 10,1919.” This was one year after tbe death of her husband. Tbe letter contained an agreement for compensation, not a claim petition; and this agreement was sent to Harrisburg by registered mail September 9, 1919, registry receipt as of that date being in evidence. It was not received by tbe board until September 11th, one day after tbe year bad expired. This agreement was referred to defendant for execution, but was returned with a denial of liability; thereafter tbe formal claim petition was filed, based on facts contained in tbe compensation agreement in tbe board’s possession.
Article III, section 315, of tbe Workmen’s Compensation Act of June 2, 1915, P. L. 736, 748, provides, “In cases of death all claims for compensation shall be forever barred, unless, within one year after tbe death, tbe parties shall have agreed upon tbe compensation under this article; or unless, within one year after tbe death, one of tbe parties shall have filed a petition as provided in article IV hereof.” Article IV, section 402, P. L. 750: “All proceedings before tbe board or any referee, and all
An examination of the compensation agreement and the claim petition shows the facts necessary to each, with unimportant exceptions, are alike. It is not material in what form the claim petition appears, as long as it presents a demand or claim for an injury that, on the facts as stated, appears to be compensable. Filing the agreement, then, was a substantial compliance with section 402.
The letter from the board directed the petition to be mailed not later than September 10th. This was the last day it could be filed with the board, and, of course, the direction as to mailing was a misstatement. Where a person is unintentionally deceived as to his rights by one who has authority to act in the premises, courts will not, if it is possible to prevent it, permit such deception to work an injury to the innocent party. Here the widow was misled by the statement of the board’s officer. She, no doubt, could have had the paper delivered in Harrisburg on the date named, had she known that was necessary. While the governing sections are mandatory, and she is presumed to know the law, we have held, where a party has been prevented from doing an act through fraud or circumstances that amount to fraud, the court might extend the time within which to do the act: Wise v. Cambridge Springs Borough, 262 Pa. 139, 144. But we need not rest the case on this conclusion.
The time limit in which claims might be filed was placed in the act not only to produce a uniform practice, but to enable employers to know the period of time they could be called upon to respond for just claims, so that they might not be constantly expecting stale claims of doubtful merit. The compensation act, then, contemplated the board would come in contact with legal claimants from every section of the Commonwealth, and that certain agencies of the government (mail service),
Attention is called to parallel reasoning in Giordano v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 66 Pa. Superior Ct. 575, 578, where Judge Henderson correctly states the law as to notice of loss by insurance.
The order of the court below is affirmed with a procedendo ; costs to be paid by appellant.