65 A.2d 443 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1949
Argued March 22, 1949. Claimant was employed as steward of defendant's social club. His work was general, involving physical *475 labor as well as supervisory duties in the operation of the club and maintenance of the building. A cataract which had developed over claimant's right eye was removed by surgery on October 24, 1946. His recovery was normal and by November 29, 1946 claimant had vision in the eye, corrected to 20/15 by means of cataract glasses. Following the eye operation, claimant returned to his employment with defendant during the last week of November 1946. About ten days later, on December 5, in the act of lifting a beverage case weighing 50 pounds from the floor of the basement and carrying it to another room, he suffered a sharp pain in the right side of his head. He testified: "After I lifted this, something tore and my eye turned all white, just like a curtain came down over my eye". The retina of the right eye became detached resulting in immediate and incurable blindness. In this proceeding the referee made an award in favor of claimant for the specific loss of the eye which was affirmed by the board. The lower court entered judgment on the award.
The findings of the referee were affirmed by the board without modification or additions; the board made no findings of its own. The so-called "findings", numbered 4 and 5, in reality are not findings at all but are merely abstracts of the testimony of the claimant and of the one medical witness, without any indication of what facts if any were accepted as established by their testimony. We have disapproved the practise and have frequently pointed out that in workmen's compensation cases it is the duty of the referee and the board to make specific findings of basic facts which will support the final order. Cf. Walsh v. Penn Anth.Mining Co.,
Disability overtaking an employe at work is not compensable unless the result of an accident, and to constitute an accident there must be some untoward occurrence aside from the usual course of events. Adamchick v. Wyoming Val. Col. Co.,
In the light of these legal principles, the 6th finding, quoted above, in reality a mixed finding of fact and a conclusion of law, is insufficient to support the award in the absence of specific findings supplying a foundation for the general finding of a compensable accident. Particularly is this so because the board rested its conclusion on the fact that there is no evidence in the record "of any diseased part of the retina previous to the incident in question". The award in this respect was made in error of law. Undoubtedly there was no pre-existing disease of the retina itself nor prior detachment of it in any degree, but if the detachment was caused by other disease or physical abnormality the resulting disability was not from accident. The burden was on the claimant in the present case to show by competent evidence that the retina became detached because of accident and not from existing weakness in the tissues of the eye resulting from the removal of the cataract. We need not express an opinion as to whether the evidence in any view is sufficient to support a finding to that effect, essential to an award in this case. Certainly the testimony of the one medical witness produced is equivocal, unsatisfactory and in some material respects, unintelligible. And, of course, the testimony of a medical witness, even though uncontradicted, is not binding on the board. Bartman v. Jones Laughlin,
We are all of the opinion that the case must be referred back to the board for further proceedings and specific findings as above indicated. Whether claimant will ultimately receive compensation for the loss of an eye is a matter of grave importance to him. Additional testimony, possibly from an impartial medical expert, may be necessary. That however, will be for the board to decide.
The judgment is set aside; it is ordered that the claim be referred back to the board for further proceedings. *478