Opinion
Argued December 6, 1973
January 2, 1974.
Workmen's compensation — Death of employe — Amendments to The Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Act, Act 1915, June 2, P. L. 736 — Termination of benefits.
1. Prior to May 1, 1972, the effective date of amendments to The Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Act, Act 1915, June 2, P. L. 736, benefits being paid an injured employe ceased upon his death, when death resulted from causes other than the compensable injury. [327-8]
Argued December 6, 1973, before Judges WILKINSON, JR., MENCER and ROGERS, sitting as a panel of three.
Appeal, No. 627 C.D. 1973, from the Order of the Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board in case of Anthony Szabara, Deceased, Mary Szabara, Widow, v. Thru-Way Equipment Co., and American Mfg. Mutual Insurance Co., No. A-66136.
Petition with Department of Labor and Industry for workmen's compensation benefits. Petition denied. Petitioner appealed to the Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board. Denial affirmed. Petitioner appealed to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Held: Affirmed.
Francis P. O'Hara, with him Fox, Differ, Callahan Ulrich, for appellant.
Daniel J. McAleer, with him Charles C. Hansford and Thomas F. McDevitt, for appellees.
Anthony F. Szabara, deceased, suffered a compensable injury on March 3, 1970, losing four fingers of his left hand. Under the terms of an open agreement for compensation, dated April 2, 1970, compensation was paid at the rate of $60.00 per week until his death on July 25, 1970, from causes admittedly unrelated to the accident.
There is no doubt that Section 306(c) of The Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Act, Act of June 2, 1915, P. L. 736, as amended, 77 P. S. § 513, provided that Mr. Szabara was entitled to receive $60.00 per week for 100 weeks. As of the date of his death, only twenty weeks of compensation had been paid. The claim here in dispute is that of the widow for an award of the balance of the 100 weekly payments due.
The widow set forth an additional claim for a healing period of six weeks, which would add $360.00 to her claim.
This dispute arises because Section 306(g) of The Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Act, 77 P. S. § 541, in effect at all times here involved, provided: "Should the employe die from some other cause than the injury, the liability for compensation shall cease." Appellant would have us interpret Section 306(g) as applying only in those where the exact dollar amount to be due cannot be determined at the outset but must depend on the amount of continuing disability. As ably set forth in Commissioner Herkovitz's opinion for a unanimous Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board, such was not the law prior to the amendment of March 29, 1972, P. L. ___, No. 61, 77 P. S. § 541, effective May 1, 1972. Following May 1, 1972, all unpaid benefits to which the deceased would have been entitled would have been paid to his dependents as set forth in the amendment. This would have been the widow if there were no children under the age of eighteen.
Appellant would have us interpret this amendment as not changing the law but merely clarifying it. We cannot agree.
Accordingly, we enter the following
ORDER
NOW, January 2, 1974, the decision of the Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board, dated April 12, 1973, dismissing appellant's appeal and affirming the decision of the referee, is affirmed.