39 Pa. Commw. 488 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1979
Opinion by
WJAC, Inc. (employer) and its insurer, United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, appeal to us from a decision of the Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board (Board) which affirmed a referee’s award of death benefits to the surviving parents of John Verprauskus (decedent).
The Board and referee found that the decedent was killed in a job-related accident and this is not disputed in the appeal. The sole issue for our consideration is whether or not there is substantial evidence to support the finding that the decedent’s parents (claimants) were partially dependent upon him for support.
At a hearing before the referee, the claimants testified that the decedent lived at home and that, although he did not pay room or board, he purchased approximately $10.00 worth of groceries every week and gave them about $20.00 per month for general expenses. He had also purchased some building materials for their home and contributed $100.00 towards the down payment for siding for the family house. In addition, he had worked around the house making various improvements and repairs to the house, and maintaining the family automobile. The claimants tes
The relevant test of dependency was stated by this Court in Leipziger v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 12 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 417, 420, 315 A.2d 883, 885 (1974):
The test of dependency is whether or not the child’s earnings were needed to provide the parents with some of the ordinary necessities of life suitable for persons in their class and position, and that the parents were, consequently, dependent to some extent upon the child at the time of the accident causing his death. If the contribution of the deceased child were necessary to maintain the parents in an established, reasonable standard of living, this existing standard must be considered in determining the necessity for such contribution from the child. (Citations omitted.)
Applying the above test here, we believe that the evidence is insufficient to support a finding of partial dependency, the facts of this case being well within our previously decided eases in which we held that the evidence did not support such a finding. For example, in Bill Mattern Paving v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 32 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 520, 379 A.2d 1087 (1977), where the decedent also lived at home, we held that the deceased’s contribution of
The claimants argue, however, that their yearly expenses exceeded their income by more than $1,500.00 and that the decedent’s contributions were therefore necessary to close that gap. We agree with the employer, however, that the Board improperly ^ included certain expenditures by the claimants in determining their necessary expenses for the year prior to the accident, including $1,000.00 for a stereo system that the decedent bought, $500.00 for a new bathroom, $2,092.00 for siding for the house, and $930.00 for furniture. We do not believe that such capital expenditures can be validly included as an expense item chargeable only to the year preceding the death of the decedent. And, when the claimant’s expenses are considered without these expenditures, it is clear that their income is sufficient to cover their ordinary expenses.
We conclude that there was not sufficient evidence presented to warrant a finding that the claimants were
Order
And Now, this 3rd day of January, 1979, the order of the Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board in the above-captioned matter is hereby reversed.