Summary
In Artis, a claimant was denied compensation for a back injury sustained while stacking certain reroll liners although, at the time of the injury, claimant was required to lift the liners an additional two feet above the height normally required.
Summary of this case from Bowman v. National Graphics Corp.Opinion
No. 34640
Decided July 5, 1956.
Workmen's compensation — "Injury" construed — Physical or traumatic damage accidental in character — Injury caused by exerting more effort than customary not compensable, when — No sudden mishap or unusual event.
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Summit County.
The claimant, appellee herein, was an employee of the Goodyear Tire Rubber Company. A portion of his duties consisted of gathering "reroll liners," used for holding fabric, at tire building machines, stacking them on skids and hauling them to the rerolling department by use of an electric tractor. It is claimant's contention that due to a shortage of help in the rerolling department a backlog of liners had accumulated at the tire building machines on the day of his claimed injury; that as a result of such accumulation he was forced to stack such liners upon the skids to a height of approximately seven feet, whereas the customary height was approximately five feet; that while so doing he sustained an injury to his back; and that, in being required to stack the liners to a height greater than was ordinarily required, there was such an unusual circumstance as to entitle him to workmen's compensation.
The claim for compensation was denied by the Industrial Commission. An appeal was taken to the Court of Common Pleas which made a finding for claimant, and such judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.
The cause is before this court pursuant to the allowance of a motion to certify the record.
Mr. Nelson Hovey, for appellee.
Mr. Walter E. deBruin, for appellant.
The sole question in this case is whether under the above facts the claimant received an injury compensable under the Workmen's Compensation Act.
A similar state of facts was considered in Matczak v. Goodyear Tire Rubber Co., 139 Ohio St. 181, 38 N.E.2d 1021. In that case the employee was lifting bags a distance of some 14 inches more than was customarily required, when he suffered his alleged injury. In the opinion in that case it is said: "In numerous cases this court has held that to come within the purview of the provisions of the Constitution and statutes of Ohio relating to workmen's compensation an injury must be accidental in origin and cause, i. e., it must result from a particular, sudden and unexpected happening in the course of and arising out of the employment." The court held that the injury sustained by the employee was not accidental and thus not compensable.
There is no evidence in the present case of any sudden mishap or happening causing injury to claimant. He was performing his usual work in the customary manner. The only unusual thing about his work on the day of the claimed injury was that he was lifting liners a somewhat greater distance than he usually did.
This is not a sudden mishap or happening upon which a claim for workmen's compensation may be based.
To establish a right to workmen's compensation, it must be shown that the injury is physical or traumatic in character and a result of external and accidental means occurring at a time when the employee was in the course of his employment. See Dripps v. Industrial Commission, ante, 407. Since there is no evidence in the present case that the injury resulted from a sudden mishap or by accidental means, claimant has failed to establish his right and is not entitled to workmen's compensation.
The judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Court of Common Pleas are reversed, and final judgment is rendered for defendant.
Judgment reversed.
WEYGANDT, C.J., MATTHIAS, STEWART, BELL and TAFT, JJ., concur.
HART, J., concurs in the judgment.