29 Pa. Commw. 134 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1977
Opinion by
The narrow but difficult question raised by this appeal is whether the apportionment of payments between the Commonwealth and an employer under Section 305.1 of The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act (Act)
The Commonwealth argues that although the decedent had been entitled to compensation for his disability, his death extinguished that claim and thus the subsequent claim of his widow for death benefits was a separate, independent claim. We agree. In construing Section 307 our Supreme Court has held that “the right of a widow to compensation is a separate cause of action, independent of and not derivative from the right of the deceased employee.” Kujawa v. Latrobe Brewing Co., 454 Pa. 165, 170, 312 A.2d 411, 413 (1973).
We cannot agree, however, that simply because the death claim was independent of the disability claim
Any compensation payable under this act for silicosis, anthraco-silicosis or coal-worker’s pneumoconiosis as defined in section 108 (q) for disability occurring on or after July 1, 1973 or for death resulting therefrom shall be paid as follows: if the disability begins between July 1,1973 and June 30,1974, inclusive, the employer shall pay twenty-five per centum and the Commonwealth seventy-five per centum; if the disability begins between July 1,1974, and June 30, 1975, inclusive, the employer shall pay fifty per centum and the Commonwealth fifty per centum; if the disability begins between July 1, 1975 and June 30, 1976, inclusive, the employer shall pay seventy-five per centum and the Commonwealth twenty-five per centum; and if the disability begins on or after July 1, 1976, all compensation shall be payable by the employer. The procedures for payment of compensation in such cases shall be as prescribed in the rules and regulations of the department. (Emphasis added.)
The Legislature obviously contemplated the situation in which death would result from a disability compensable under Section 305.1. Its explicit language is that the apportionment of payments for such a death is controlled solely by the date of disability, regardless of when the death occurs. The Commonwealth’s liability cannot be expanded, of course, without explicit statutory authorization. Rakoczy v. Jandy Coal Co., 26 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 459, 363 A.2d 1338 (1976). Yet here the Legislature has spoken explicitly and we are bound by its dictates.
Order
Now, March 4, 1977, the orders of the Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board at No. A-70225, dated May 4, 1976, and April 8, 1976, are hereby reversed and the award of the referee dated April 24, 1975, awarding compensation to the claimant, Anna Kokinda, at the rate of $78.80 per week, beginning November 24, 1974, of which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be liable for 75 per cent and the defendant, Beltrami Enterprises, Inc., shall be liable for 25 per cent, and burial expenses in the amount of $750.00 of which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be liable for 75 per cent and the defendant 25 per cent, is hereby reinstated.
Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. §411.1.
77 P.S. §561(2).