Opinion
May 11, 1949.
Present — Foster, P.J., Heffernan, Brewster, Deyo and Santry, JJ.
Appeal by a self-insured employer from an award in claimant's favor. The contention of appellant is that claimant is entitled only to a schedule award. The employer was engaged in the manufacture of paper at Niagara Falls and claimant was employed as an elevator operator. On May 5, 1943, the claimant's right heel became wedged between the elevator and the elevator wall. As a result of the accident the claimant suffered a ragged wound of the right heel with contusions of the soft parts, a fracture of the right os calcis, a tranverse tender scar on the right heel, torn ligaments and incarceration of the sensory nerve fibers. After an operation on the claimant's right heel on July 24, 1946, she continued to complain of pain. She was disabled as a result of a chronic inflammation of the Achilles tendon and pain. On September 9, 1943, the board made an award to the claimant for the period from May 5, 1943, to July 19, 1943, and the case was continued. On November 10, 1943, the board made a schedule award to claimant for 10% loss of use of her right foot for twenty and one-half weeks. Claimant subsequently made a claim to reopen her case and after hearings had been held the award appealed from was made. The board found that claimant suffered from continuous pain during the period for which the award was made. The proof sustains the finding that claimant's disability and inability to work were due primarily to pain which, in turn, was caused by the condition of her heel which resulted from the accidental injuries which she sustained on May 5, 1943. The board held that the schedule award which it originally made was inadequate. The board properly reopened the case and made this award. Award unanimously affirmed, with costs to the Workmen's Compensation Board.