201 Pa. Super. 152 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1963
Opinion by
In this unemployment compensation case the bureau, the referee and the board all found that the claimant was not entitled to benefits because of willful misconduct in violation of the provisions of §402(e) of the Unemployment Compensation Law, 43 PS §802(e), when he was discharged from his position as a taxicab driver because he was involved in two accidents within a period of three years and four months of employment.
There is no dispute as to the facts, which are as follows: The claimant was employed as a taxicab driver
In Allen Unemployment Compensation Case, 168 Pa. Superior Ct. 295, 77 A. 2d 889, we affirmed the decision of the board where a taxi driver, during a 21-month-period, was involved in eight traffic accidents (the employer superintendent having testified that the driver had 13 accidents) which occurred in the last six months of his employment. Most were minor in degree but the employer incurred $555.00 in expenses on their account. The last was the most serious and involved further expense; a collision with another automobile at a street intersection compelled the employer to pay its passenger $75.00 damages for personal injuries and the claim of the driver of the other automobile remained unsettled at the time of the hearing before the compensation authorities. In that case there was also a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and the claimant’s labor union which provided “The Company shall have the right to suspend or discharge any driver for just cause and/or for any of the following offenses: ... 5. Accidents involving serious personal injuries or substantial property damage caused
In Shirley Unemployment Compensation Case, 198 Pa. Superior Ct. 296, 181 A. 2d 709, we affirmed the decision of the board in which the record showed that the claimant had a history of accidents held to be chargeable to him, for which he was discharged in December, 1959. He was, however, rehired in April 1960. After that time he had been involved in six accidents, three of which were chargeable to his negligence. He was placed under surveillance by the company and found violating various company rules concerning driving, and was warned of the violations by his employer. These violations included going through a red light, starting on amber and improper parking. On May 21, 1961 he was again involved in an accident, as a result of which he was unable to work until July 6, 1961, and other persons involved in the accident were seriously injured. He was discharged on July 6, 1961 because of the prior warnings and his history of chargeable accidents.
In Gossett Unemployment Compensation Case, 188 Pa. Superior Ct. 189, 146 A. 2d 333, we affirmed the decision of the board in which the claimant was found to be eligible for compensation. In that case the claimant was employed for a period of approximately 11 months, his last day of work being September 21, 1957.
It is, of course, true that the credibility of the witnesses, the weight of their testimony and the reasonable inferences to be. drawn from it are for the board: Ristis Unemployment Compensation Case, 178 Pa. Superior Ct. 400, 408, 116 A. 2d 271. It is also true that the findings of the board as to facts, if supported by the evidence, are conclusive: Progress Mfg. Co., Inc. v.
In the present ease there was no real dispute as to the facts. The conclusion of the board drawn from those facts, to wit: that the claimant was guilty of willful misconduct, was, in our opinion, primarily a legal conclusion and one which we are in just as good a position to draw as the board. The drawing of this conclusion was an endeavor by the board to put into effect the legal principle announced by us in the Allen case, hereinbefore more fully stated. We do not believe that the conclusion reached by the board is justified by the facts in this case. Tavo skidding accidents in a period of three years and four months by a taxicab driver in a big city cannot be called a “series of accidents occurring periodically and with consistent regularity”. While they might have resulted from negligence, it is an easy thing for a driver to skid upon a snowy or wet highway. Many careful drivers have often done so. We do not believe that the record in this case is sufficient to justify a finding that the driver was guilty of willful misconduct.
It may well be that the employer would have been justified in protecting its insurance status but we do not believe that, under the facts of this case, the claimant should be disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits.
The decision of the board is reversed.