Illinois Emergency Relief Commission v. Illinois Emergency Relief Commission

ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, No. 15.

Payment of $104.00 found to be authorized.

HAROLD C. BOUGH, Claimant, vs. ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, Respondent.

Opinion filed May 11, 1937.

STATEMENT OF FACTS.

Harold C. Bough, 3037 Franklin Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, claims to have sustained a right direct inguinal hernia on or about the 13th day of February, 1935, while working in the stores department of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission at 1319 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Said department was custodian of all goods, wares and merchandise which were shipped to the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. After the materials were received in said department, it was then the duty of said department to furnish materials and supplies to whatever department requested them. Said department was considered one of the warehouses for the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission.

The General Assembly of the State of Illinois on or about the 6th day of February, 1932, created the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Chapter 23, Section 464, of the Illinois Revised Statutes, 1935 Edition, sets out the duties of said Commission, which are as follows: "Powers and duties. It shall be the duty of the commission until March 1, 1937, to provide relief to residents of the State of Illinois, who, by reason of unemployment or otherwise, are destitute and in necessitous circumstances.

Such relief shall be provided by distributing funds or supplies and by any other means deemed desirable by the commission. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, the commission may make use of and cooperate with counties, townships, and any other municipal corporations charged by law with the duty of poor relief and with other local relief agencies." [*608]

The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission has created many departments within itself since its creation through which relief is administered; such as Maintenance Department, furniture shops, mattress factories, canneries, work relief divisions and other divisions or departments too numerous to mention. Said Maintenance Department has charge of maintenance work in all buildings operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said work includes carpentry, plumbing, janitor work, engineering, and general repair work. Said furniture shops manufacture furniture which is used in relief offices throughout the State. Said mattress factories manufacture mattresses for relief recipients and for shelters operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said canneries preserve vegetables and fruits which have been grown by relief recipients on Illinois Emergency Relief Commission soil. Said work relief divisions furnish men to the State Highway Department, counties, townships, cities and parks for general maintenance work.

All of the above enterprises or projects use sharp-edged cutting tools, such as saws, chisels, mattocks and axes. Said buildings operate electric motors, elevators and boilers, all of which are governed by municipal ordinances.

Mr. Bough was assigned to work in the stores department on or about the 16th day of December, 1934. He worked approximately 170 hours per month and for his services received $85.00 a month.

Mr. Bough was directed by W. J. Riley, foreman of the stores department at 1319 South Michigan Avenue, to pile certain bales of clothing and boxes of stationery in one section of the basement. The bales of clothing weighed approximately 300 pounds and the stationery, 100 to 125 pounds each.

It was necessary to move each one of these bales as stickers were placed on them addressing them to certain shelters and relief offices throughout the State, and it was Mr. Bough's duty to address all of these bales. While moving same, he felt a sharp pain in his right side. The pain became so intense that it was necessary for him to rest for a short time, although after resting he continued with his work throughout the day. He informed Mr. Riley of his accident the following day. (See Exhibit I.) Mr. Riley reported the accident to Mr. R. J. Chesbro, Director of the Procurement Department and head of the [*609] Stores Department for the Illinois Relief Commission, who was his superior. (See Exhibit II.)

Mr. Beaver Barrett and Mr. Herbert Treskow, who were also employed in the Stores Department of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission at 1319 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, stated that on the 13th day of February, 1935, they were informed by Mr. Bough that he had sustained an injury while moving certain bales of clothing. (See Exhibits III and IV.)

In the course of Mr. Bough's work, sharp-edged cutting tools were used such as chisels, saws, and knives. There were also two Kewanee boilers, three engines, and four elevators in said building. This building was occupied by the administrative offices of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission and the Works Progress Administration.

The sum of $194.00 has been expended by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission as a result of said injury.

Medical and doctor's bills have been examined and found to be just and reasonable for the services rendered. (See Exhibit V.) The hernia which was sustained by the claimant was treated by Dr. W. M. McMillan, 222 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, by an injection process. This method of treatment allows the injured to continue with his work and also eliminates an operation and thus, hospital expenditures.

The only inconvenience that the patient is subjected to during the process of treatment is that it is necessary for him to wear a truss. Dr. McMillan also provides in his contract that if this injection method fails to perfect a cure, he will perform a surgical operation with no additional cost to the individual. Claimant in this particular case submitted himself for examination by another doctor after he had been pronounced cured by Dr. McMillan to see whether or not the injections had proved successful, and the doctor who made this last examination informed the claimant that he had completely recovered from his hernia. (See Exhibit VI.)

Claimant's accident was in the course of, and arose out of, his employment. The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission had notice of the accident and demand for compensation was made on his employer within six months after the accident. [*610]

Section 3, Subsection 4, of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "The operation of any warehouse or general or terminal storehouses."

Section 3, Subsection 8, of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "In any enterprise in which statutory or municipal ordinance regulations are now or shall hereafter be imposed for the regulating, guarding, use or the placing of machinery or appliances or for the protection and safeguarding of the employees or the public therein; each of which occupations, enterprises or businesses are hereby declared to be extra hazardous * * *" Section 8, Subsection (a), of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "The employer shall provide the necessary first aid, medical and surgical services, and all necessary medical, surgical and hospital services thereafter, limited, however, to that which is reasonably required to cure or relieve from the effects of the injury * * *" Mr. Bough was employed by the World's Fair Greyhound Lines during the period of the World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois (1933 and 1934). At that time, he averaged $25.00 a week. A medical examination was given him by Dr. Swift on the 15th day of May, 1934. At that time, he was given a Class "A" rating and there was no showing of a hernia.

Claimant does not ask for temporary total or permanent total disability. Further, there is no claim pending against the State of Illinois or the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission.

ADVISORY OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE YANTIS.

Pursuant to your request for an Advisory Opinion, based upon the foregoing statement of facts submitted by you in the matter of the claim of Harold C. Bough vs. Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, the following opinion is rendered, based upon the aforementioned statement: We find that at the time of the accident in question, both employer and employee were operating under and bound by the provisions of the Illinois Workmen's Compensation Act; that said accident arose out of and in the course of such employment; that the essential elements for an award in the case of an injury resulting in hernia are shown by the statement of facts to have existed; that by virtue of the provisions [*611] of Section 8 (a) of said Act, the Commission was liable for the payment of compensation for temporary total disability and for medical and doctor bills incurred in relieving said employee from the effects and results of said injury. From the statement made, the payment of such medical and doctor bills and the expenditure of the sum of One Hundred Four ($104.00) Dollars by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission as a result of said injury was and is justified under the terms of the Workmen's Compensation Act.

As it appears from the statement that full adjustment has been made with the injured employee, a final release should be obtained.