158 Minn. 491 | Minn. | 1924
Certiorari to review an order of the Industrial Commission awarding compensation to the respondent for the death of her husband.
On October 4, 1921, while employed in the relator’s packing plant, the deceased was accidently injured and was never able to resume work. He was paid full compensation until January 1, 1923, when he died.
Respondent’s application for additional compensation was resisted on the ground that death was not a result of the accidental injury. The deceased fell about 8 feet, striking the concrete floor under the elevator in the building where he was employed, injuring his back and head. The referee found that death was caused by these injuries, 'the commission adopted the finding, and relator has brought the record here to have the finding reviewed.
The limits of the inquiry, when the commission’s findings are challenged in this court, have been repeatedly stated. The cases are cited in Schoewe v. Winona Paint & Glass Co. 155 Minn. 4, 191 N. W. 1009. Unless we can say that a finding is clearly and manifestly contrary to the evidence, we have no right to set it aside.
Respondent introduced evidence tending to show that the deceased was always healthy before he was hurt, but never regained his health. He no longer had control of his legs and fell down on many occasions. He complained of dizziness, pain in the back of his head, and of black specks floating before his eyes. One of the lumbar vertebrae was fractured, and it was for this injury only that he received medical treatment. A lump on the lower portion of the left side of the head showed where his head had been injured.
To ascertain the cause of death, an autopsy was performed by Dr. Kramer, who found that there had been a recent hemorrhage in the brain, that the arteries had hardened, and that there was a
A medical witness present at the autopsy expressed the opinion that the fatal hemorrhage was hastened by the injury to the head, which tended to develop a weak spot in the blood vessels of the cerebellum.
The medical witnesses for the relator were of the opinion that the long time intervening between the accident and death removed the basis for any inference that there was a causal connection between the injury and death.
It appears from the medical testimony that a blow on the head may cause a fracture of the skull with no internal hemorrhage, or it may cause a hemorrhage without a fracture, and, if there was only a slight hemorrhage, the blood would probably be absorbed; also that a hemorrhage in the cerebellum is likely to be followed by what was termed “inco-ordination” of the muscles. The fact that the deceased lost control of his legs and was dizzy is cited in support of the contention that there must have been an internal hemorrhage at the point where the fracture was found by Dr. Larson, which weakened the blood vessels at that point and induced the final hemorrhage. On the other hand, relator insists that the dizziness and inability to stand upright merely indicated that the arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure had reached the point where dizziness was to be expected regardless of any injury to the head.
The testimony of Dr. Larson would justify the conclusion that the skull had been fractured. Dizziness and the deceased’s inability to retain his balance from and after the date of the accident, under all the evdence, were sufficient • indications of a hemorrhage in the brain to warrant the conclusion that one had occurred as a result of the injury. Presumably these were the conclusions the commission drew from the evidence, and, since they were permissible, the ultimate finding as to the cause of death cannot be disturbed.
Affirmed.