32 So. 2d 666 | Ala. | 1947
Lead Opinion
Certiorari was granted on petition of the Southern Cotton Oil Company, a corporation, to review a decree of the circuit court of Colbert County awarding compensation to the widow and minor children of Ben Bruce, deceased, for the death of their husband and father, who at the time of his death was an employee of the said company. *677
The proceedings were instituted in the trial court under the Alabama Workmen's Compensation Law, Chapter 5, Title 26, Code of 1940 by Mrs. Lue Bruce, the widow, who sued on her own behalf and that of the minor children.
The trial judge made a full statement of the facts, his conclusions thereon, and his views of the law applicable thereto. Petitioner does not challenge the material facts as found by the trial judge. The finding of facts is as follows:
"Ben F. Bruce, deceased, was employed at the time of his death in August, 1943, and since the year 1926 as a night watch man by the defendant company, Southern Cotton Oil Company, a Corporation. The Company was doing business in Sheffield, Alabama, employing more than sixteen employees and was subject to and governed by the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Law of Alabama as was the said Bruce.
"Bruce's average weekly earnings were $37.10. The plaintiff, Mrs. Lue Bruce, was his wife. Surviving in addition to his widow were two minor children, all three being totally dependent on Bruce for maintenance and support.
"The defendant Company operated a Cotton Oil Mill, being engaged in the processing of cotton seed for the purpose of obtaining cotton seed oil therefrom. The Plant consisted of about three acres of land on which there were ten buildings, among them being an office building. Bruce's duties as night watchman included watching and guarding the whole of the plant against thievery, fire, depredation and other destructive forces. He carried a key to all buildings including the office building. His work hours were from 6:00 P. M. to 6:00 A. M. His immediate superior was J. B. Thompson who had a son, a very young boy, known affectionately by Bruce and most all the officials and employees as 'Sonny.' Sonny frequently visited the Plant with the knowledge of the officials. Bruce, the deceased, and Sonny were particularly good friends and pals. It was common knowledge of the officials that Sonny often made the rounds of the buildings with Mr. Bruce and played in the Company yard.
"On August 18, 1943, when Sonny's mother came for her husband between 6:00 and 6:30 P. M. she brought Sonny in her car and left him at the Plant. As Bruce was completing his first round of checking the other buildings Sonny and Mr. Bruce were seen together walking toward the office building. Sonny had a toy pistol. Mr. Bruce had before made inquiries as to where he could obtain leather with which to make Sonny a holster for the toy pistol. Mr. Bruce had been and was interested in making a holster for Sonny and this was known by Bruce's immediate superior. As the two approached the office building, Mr. Bruce said to Sonny: 'I'll give you a holster.'
"Mr. Bruce carried his own pistol, a 45-calibre one, on his person in his work. In the office in the desk drawer of the Company Cashier was a Company owned 32-calibre pistol which was in a holster loaned to the Company by Mr. Bruce. Bruce had at times, though infrequently, used both pistols in his work. He used the Company pistol with the knowledge and acquiescence of the Company officials with which to shoot rats in the Company buildings or on the Company property. The Company-owned 32-pistol — 'the pistol with which Mr. Bruce was shot — was kept on the premises by the Company to be used by any of the employees of the defendant Company who had not been equipped with a pistol for protecting the employees and the property of the defendant Company, and it was not entrusted by the Company to any definite employee but was kept in the desk which was used by H. E. Jeffry, Jr., Cashier, where it was located on the day Mr. Bruce was shot.' (Quotation from defendant's answers to Interrogatories.)
"Mr. Bruce and Sonny came into the office from the back door. Sonny laid his toy pistol on Mr. Jeffry's desk. Mr. Bruce opened the desk drawer, secured the Company pistol, removed it from his holster, laid the Company pistol down on the desk and picked up Sonny's toy pistol. Sonny mean while playing around the office returned to the desk, picked up the pistol which was at that moment lying thereon, that is, the Company owned 32 pistol, and pulled the trigger, shooting Mr. Bruce. Bruce died therefrom shortly.
"The shot was heard about four or five minutes after Bruce and Sonny, in very *678 close proximity to the office building, were seen walking toward that building. The office with Company knowledge and acquiescence served as Bruce's headquarters or 'hangout.' He kept his coat and hat and his personal belongings there. He answered the 'phone for the Company there when other employees had gone from work or were not there. Sometimes he ate there. There was ice water in the office for himself and other employees. At times he used the office for weighing in and making record of cotton seed brought to the Company after regular hours in its regular trade when the regular workmen employed for that purpose had left the Company's premises for the day. At the time of the shooting, however, there was no cotton seed there to be weighed and checked in or out. All other employees had left the premises, the day's work being over, — there were no witnesses to the shooting.
"Bruce often went to the office between his hourly rounds of checking the other buildings. The Superintendent's office, a toilet and storeroom were in the same office building."
Based on such findings the trial court concluded "that the accident causing Bruce's death arose out of his employment and in the course of his employment and that the defendant is liable for compensation therefor."
This court long ago announced the rule governing our review of cases arising under the Workmen's Compensation Act. We have uniformly held that if there is any reasonable view of the evidence that will support the conclusion reached by the trial court, the finding and judgment will not be disturbed. Ex parte Sloss-Sheffield Steel Iron Co.,
Petitioner, defendant below, in its answer admitted that at the time Bruce was killed he was an employee of that company and that both parties are subject to the Workmen's Compensation Law.
As before indicated, petitioner does not seriously question the trial court's statement of the facts. Petitioner does insist, however, that the facts as found by the trial court do not warrant the conclusion reached that Bruce met his death as a result of an accident which arose out of and in the course of his employment.
Therefore, the precise legal question presented to this court is whether the evidence as stated by the trial court, or the reasonable inferences therefrom, tend to support the conclusion of the trial court that the deceased was killed in an accident which arose but of and in the course of his employment.
That the deceased employee met his death as a result of an accident is not controverted. We think it clear that his death was accidental within the meaning of the statute. Boris Const. Co. v. Haywood,
But in order for compensation to be awarded the accident which caused his death must have arisen out of and in the course of his employment.
The phrase "arises out of" employment refers to employment as the cause and source of the accident. Garrett v. Gadsden Cooperage Co.,
We have in this jurisdiction two decisions by this court where compensation was held *679 to have been correctly awarded where employees met their death as a result of accidental shootings. In both of them it was held that the evidence was clear to the effect that the deceased received the injury which caused his death in the course of his employment. It appears that the question for decision in both cases was whether the accident arose out of the employment.
In Ex parte Rosengrant,
It appears in Boris Const. Co. v. Haywood,
As before indicated, we held in the two cases last above referred to that the conditions under which the employees were accidentally shot were such as to justify a finding that the accidents "arose out of [the] employment," even though the injured employees were not required to handle or carry firearms. In one the employment exposed the employee to hazards of the water-front and in the other to the dangers of the street. The risk of being accidentally shot was external to their employment.
In Dallas Mfg. Co. v. Kennemer,
In the instant case the employee's death was caused by the accidental discharge of a pistol which he used with the knowledge and consent of the company officials in connection with the performance of his duties. When guns are handled shooting accidents may be expected. Such an accident is unquestionably a hazard peculiar to the employment of a watchman or other person whose duties require the use of firearms. The duties of his employment subjected him to this hazard to which he would not have been equally exposed apart from the employment. It is such a hazard as can be said to be a natural consequence of the employment. A firearm is a dangerous instrumentality (American Ry. Express Co. v. Tait,
It was by reason of his employment that the deceased was exposed to the danger incident to the handling and carrying of the pistols, and the hazard of being shot by the accidental discharge of the pistols was unquestionably a natural incident to his work.
We hold, therefore, that if at the time the deceased was shot he was acting in the course of his employment, the accident arose out of his employment.
We come, therefore, to the questions, Do the facts as found by the trial court show that the accident occurred "in the course of" the deceased's employment? The phrase "in the course of his employment" refers to the time, place, and circumstances under which the accident took place. An injury to an employee arises in the course of his employment when it occurs within the period of his employment, at a place where he may reasonably be, and while he is reasonably fulfilling the duties of his employment or engaged in doing something incident to it. Mobile Liners, Inc., v. McConnell,
The accident definitely occurred within the period of the deceased's employment. It also happened at a place where he had a right to be at the time the accident occurred. The evidence fully supports the finding of the trial court that the place where the shooting took place was used by Bruce, with the knowledge and consent of petitioner, as his headquarters, between his rounds of inspection and that he was just finishing his first round and in returning to the office where the accident happened, he followed a procedure long known to and acquiesced in by the officials of the company. While the evidence shows that the deceased intended to present his young friend with the holster which belonged to deceased when he arrived at the "office," it is not susceptible of the construction that that was the only reason which motivated him in returning to the office just immediately prior to the time he was shot.
The question remains, Was the deceased employee at the time he was shot reasonably fulfilling the duties of his employment or engaged in doing something incidental to it? Petitioner insists that he was not and contends that the evidence as found by the trial court does not support such a conclusion but on the contrary shows that the deceased at the time of the shooting had departed from the service of the company.
A departure cannot be predicated on the fact that the deceased was in the "office" when he was killed. Although a watchman, he was not required or expected to constantly patrol the grounds and buildings of the company. He continued in his duties as watchman while he was in the "office" which the officials of the company knew he used between rounds of inspection. *681
Did he perform any act while in the office which constituted a departure from his duties as watchman which proximately caused his death? He handled the company pistol. It was this act which eventually resulted in his death. But he had a right to handle the pistol in connection with the performance of his duties and such right was not dependent upon the necessity of immediately using it against intruders. Petitioner insists, however, that he did not handle the pistol for the company's benefit but for the sole purpose of obtaining his holster to give to his young friend. The trial court did not find such to be the sole reason why deceased handled the pistol. But if we assume that such was the purpose, we do not think that the deceased had departed from his duties as night watchman to such an extent as to deprive his widow and children of the benefits of the Workmen's Compensation Law. The holster belonged to deceased. He had used it in connection with his duties as night watchman. It encased the company pistol used by deceased and officials of the company alike. When the deceased employee placed the pistol in the holster it could not be said reasonably that he was not doing an act incidental to his employment. He had a right to retrieve the holster and in doing so such act was also incidental to his employment. The fact that he wished to present the holster to the little boy rather than to keep it or return it to his house is of no importance.
The question here dealt with is a difficult one, but when the underlying philosophy as to the purpose and scope of the Workmen's Compensation Law is considered, we think the answer is that at the time the deceased was shot he was engaged in the performance of an act incidental to his employment. We hold, therefore, that the accident occurred in the course of the deceased's employment within the meaning of the statute as construed by this court.
There is no formula which can be applied to cases of this kind. Each case must be determined on its own facts and circumstances and other cases are helpful only to the extent that the facts there dealt with are similar to those of the case under consideration. We find no case from this jurisdiction which arose under the Workmen's Compensation Law where the facts even remotely resemble those of the instant case. However, there are several cases from other jurisdictions where under facts somewhat analogous to those here presented compensation was allowed.
In the case of Johnson v. Industrial Commission,
In Goins v. Shreveport Yellow Cabs La. App.,
"The plaintiff, Levi T. Goins, brings this suit for compensation for an injury alleged to have been received as the result of the accidental discharge of a pistol in the hands of another employee, which injury is alleged to have been received in the course of plaintiff's employment, and arising out of such employment.
"The material facts in this case are not in dispute. Defendant operates a taxicab business in the city of Shreveport. The plaintiff was employed as one of defendant's drivers at the time the injury was sustained. On September 25, 1939, the plaintiff was stationed on the Travis Street side of the Washington-Youree Hotel. About 8 P. M. o'clock, R. C. Mills, the driver of a cab parked just in front of that of the plaintiff, left with another employee to get coffee at a nearby restaurant. Goins entered the cab operated by Mills for the purpose of being nearer the telephone in the event a call was received.
"After the return of Mills the two men began to examine a pistol kept by Mills in his cab. Goins returned to his cab and secured the pistol furnished him by the defendant company in order to compare the revolvers. While Goins was sitting in the rear of the Mills cab, the pistol being handled by Mills was accidentally discharged. The bullet passed through Goins' face, resulting in the loss of six teeth, described as the right maxillary cuspid, first and second bicuspids, left maxillary second bicuspid, first molar and right mandibular bicuspid.
"At the time of this accident the defendant was having a labor dispute with some of *683 the drivers, who were on strike. On several occasions prior to the labor trouble, cab drivers had been robbed, kidnapped and their cabs stolen. As a result of these troubles, the defendant supplied pistols to the drivers. The drivers were not compelled to carry the revolvers, but the evidence leaves us satisfied that they were encouraged to have these weapons for defense of themselves as well as the property of the defendant company.
"The first question to be decided is whether this injury arose out of and in the course of the plaintiff's employment. We have concluded that under the jurisprudence of this State that it did and therefore plaintiff is entitled to compensation.
* * * * * *
"Ordinarily, plaintiff's employment as a cab driver might not expose him to the danger of accidental shooting any more than had he not been so employed, but where the employer furnishes his employee with a revolver for the two-fold purpose of protecting himself and the property of the employer from robbers, kidnappers and possible trouble from striking cab drivers, he is exposed to the danger of accidental shooting. Necessarily, the employee would be called on to handle the pistol other than the occasion when actual danger was presented. As the Court said in the Brown case, supra, we would be indulging in hairsplitting distinctions which would be without foundation in law or fact, should we hold under the facts of this case that the injury did not arise out of and in the course of plaintiff's employment."
In Franks v. Point Marion Bridge Co.,
"There is no testimony in the instant case that deceased was fatally injured in the commission of an act which was in direct violation of the law, or in the commission of an act contrary to the positive orders of his employer, nor were his injuries received while away from the actual place of employment. On the contrary, the deceased was on his employer's premises, at the place he was required to be and, a few moments before the fatal accident, was performing his assigned duties in furtherance of the interests of his employer. The testimony does not disclose how the accident actually happened; nor can it be conclusively inferred that he was doing something wholly foreign to his employment at the time, or that he was killed as the result of his commission of an act wholly foreign thereto. See Granville v. Scranton Coal Co.,
"Appellant argues that the rifle which inflicted the fatal wound was not connected with or related to the duties that were assigned to the deceased; that it was borrowed by the deceased, and kept on the premises of his employer solely for his own diversion and amusement; and that under these circumstances compensation cannot be recovered by claimant for her husband's death. To sustain this position appellant relies on the case of Beamer v. Stanley Co. of America et al.,
For other cases where compensation was allowed as a result of accidental shooting under similar though not identical facts to the case at hand, see Comstock et al. v. Bivens et al.,
It is not every deviation of temporary detachment from duty that will defeat an award. See Horovitz on Workmen's Compensation, page 167.
In the case of Miles v. Gibbs Hill, Inc., et al.,
In Franck v. Allen et al.,
In Derby v. International Salt Co., Inc.,
"The claimant was engaged in moving salt in a hand cart. He placed the cart in position where it would be filled from a chute and while waiting for this he exercised by walking about, as the weather was cold. He received serious injuries to each hand from the explosion of a dynamite cartridge or cap. He describes the happening: 'I saw something across a long board that was laying there. It was shining. It was in a little box and I picked it up and looked at it and in the left hand I held it and * * * I pulled that wire and it exploded.'
"The claimant had not abandoned his employment. It was his duty to wait until the cart was filled, and observing the interesting looking box or device he picked it up to investigate. Except for the dangerous character of his find, this act would not have lessened the amount of labor which he would do. It was a peril arising because of his employment at the salt works."
The deceased having been killed as the result of an accident which arose out of and in the course of his employment, the trial court correctly awarded compensation to his widow and minor children. The decree is affirmed.
Affirmed.
BROWN, LIVINGSTON, SIMPSON and STAKELY, JJ., concur.
GARDNER, C. J., and FOSTER, J., dissent.
Dissenting Opinion
I regret my inability to agree. Guided by emotions, I would readily concur for it is quite manifest from the undisputed proof the watchman Bruce met his tragic end because of his love for the boy and his desire to please him. No stronger case for sympathetic appeal could well be presented.
I am in full accord with the consistent holdings of this court to the effect that the workmen's compensation statute should be liberally construed so as to effectuate its beneficent purpose. But we have often had reason to observe (Cohan Bullard v. Cullman Heading Co.,
The case is very fully and clearly stated in the opinion of Mr. Justice Lawson and needs no elaboration here. To my mind it is simply an application of the settled rules to the facts of the case, as disclosed by this record.
Of course, the testimony must be viewed from the standpoint of reason because, as we have stated in our decisions, if there is a reasonable view of the evidence that will support the conclusion announced by the trial court the finding and judgment will not be disturbed. Mobile Liners, Inc., v. McConnell,
In Mobile Liners, Inc., v. McConnell, supra [
In Exchange Distributing Co. v. Oslin,
This principle was again stressed in the more recent case of Dallas Mfg. Co. v. Kennemer,
"But it does not follow that because the injury was accidental it was compensable, even though at the time he was on the premises of defendant and was serving in the course of his employment. Nor is the matter necessarily settled by the fact that the cause of his injury originated on said premises of defendant to which his employment caused him to be at that moment exposed. * * *
"The question always is whether his employment specially subjected him to a hazard of that sort, as one which may be supposed would be a natural consequence of it. * * *
"In all cases it is necessary that the duties of his employment expose him to a danger materially in excess of that to which people commonly in that locality are exposed when not situated as he was in the course of his employment."
The prevailing opinion lays much stress upon the cases of Ex parte Rosengrant,
As I view it, the Rosengrant and Boris Construction Company cases are without application here. The accidental shooting of Bruce occurred while he was placing a toy pistol in the holster for the pleasure of this boy. Certainly this was not a hazard anticipated by his employment and in no manner connected therewith. True enough, a night watchman by virtue of his position is exposed to more hazards than the ordinary employee, but I am unable to see that this principle has application to the facts here presented. The risk from injury so far as Bruce's employment was concerned was no more than the normal risk to which all are subject, that is, the risk of a boy playing with a loaded pistol. There are quite a number of authorities cited in the note to 71 C.J. page 692, which illustrate this principle. In 71 C.J. page 681 is the statement that an injury incurred when the employee has departed from the service of the master and is performing a voluntary service for the accommodation of another does not arise out of and in the course of employment. A number of authorities are cited in support of this principle. See also *687
Barragar v. Industrial Commission,
To my mind when the night watchman Bruce proceeded to obtain the holster and place the toy pistol therein for his boy friend it was purely a matter of accommodation to the boy as well as for his own gratification. True, he was still night watchman, but in performing this act he was clearly departing from the scope of his employment. That the boy should have taken the 32-caliber pistol and fired it at Bruce is clearly not a risk or a danger to which Bruce was subjected by being a night watchman at the plant.
As I view in the light of reason and common sense, this tragic accident is not one within the influence of the workmen's compensation statute. Reduced to the last analysis, I am persuaded that the prevailing opinion leads to the conclusion that a night watchman is within the statute if accidently shot with a weapon belonging to the employer under any circumstances by any one on the premises and during the hours of employment, regardless of the circumstances of the injury. I cannot square such conclusion with the theory that for recovery there must be a causal connection between conditions under which the employee worked and the resulting injury. The occurrence must have had its origin, as we have often said, in a risk, connected with the employment and therefore flowed from that source as a rational consequence. The language of Exchange Distributing Co. v. Oslin, supra, is to my mind applicable here, where it was observed the dangers incurred in going on the personal mission there involved was in no wise connected with the business he was engaged in, or was this danger incidental to the character of the business in which he was employed, but was wholly independent of the relation of master and servant.
But I forego further discussion.
Finding myself unable to agree, I respectfully dissent.
Mr. Justice FOSTER concurs in the foregoing views. *688