Opinion
June 16, 1955.
Appeal from Workmen's Compensation Board.
Present — Foster, P.J., Bergan, Halpern, Imrie and Zeller, JJ.
Deceased employee and claimant were custodians of the clubhouse maintained by the appellant employer, residing on the club premises. He acted as steward and, with claimant, served meals and refreshments. Their duties also consisted of keeping the place in condition and cleaning up the club after parties, none of which, as was said, involved heavy work. In addition, decedent had been employed for about a year prior to his death as a part-time porter at the bar and grill known as "The Track" located across the street from the employer club, working there from two to three hours in the forenoons. On the morning of July 11, 1951, said to have been a very hot day, decedent worked at "The Track" from seven to ten. Returning to the club, he resumed painting the basement floor, work which he had started some days previously. About noon, at claimant's request, decedent carried a forty-pound hose upstairs and attached it. He went back to the basement to obtain a shovel, on which he propped the hose for the purpose of sprinkling the garden. He then returned to the basement. At twelve-thirty claimant rang the bell for lunch, but received no answer. Going to the basement she found her husband sprawled on hands and knees with the paint can and a brush beside his hand. She estimated that since ten o'clock he had painted about one hundred and eighty-nine square feet of floor, using a large brush and enamel. The basement windows were open, but a strong smell of paint was present. He was pronounced dead after police and the ambulance doctor had worked over him for an hour. Cause of death was given as coronary insufficiency. Appellants contest the decision upon the grounds that there was no evidence of accident or causal relationship and that, if a finding of accident was proper, "The Track" was improperly discharged. The record furnishes substantial support for the finding that decedent was subjected to unusual strain and extra effort in his employment at the appellant club. The conflict in testimony as to the nature of decedent's duties at "The Track" on the day of his death and in the medical opinion raised questions of fact which were within the province of the board to resolve, and its findings thereon are conclusive. Decision and award unanimously affirmed, with costs to be divided equally between the Workmen's Compensation Board, on the one part, and employer Morrell and his carrier, Connecticut Indemnity Company, on the other.