The sun., 1919-09-26
INSURANCE CASES
WILL Be REOPENED
All settlements Made by Buff
falo Office Found I'm
satisfactory.
wORKMEN UNDERPAID
Clients of Wynkoop Service
Fail to Get Money Due,
Hearing Develops.

hoard before the Buffalo Office OF the
s,ste Industrial Commission that Jere-
miah F. Conner. special commissioner,
who is investigating that body. will re-
mort 10 Gov. Smith that all cases settled
nv that office since July 1, 1917, which
al in the special kroup policy class
should be reopened.
Testimony of Henry d. Sayer; mem
her of the State Industrial Commission,
heard Yesterday by Commissioner Con-
nor. showed that in a number OF IN
stances in which the employers of the
injured claimants were clients OF the
Wvnkoop Service a rehearing developed
that the workmen had not received the
money they should have got
The Wynkoop Service is an insurance
brokerage business managed by @. NJ.
Wynkoop. Evidence on previous days
of the hearing showed that he shared
6fty fifty any dividends paid to his
clients by the fund His revenue from
This source was upward of $4,000 In
one year. Eight Wynkoop cases which
we're reheard caused additional compen-
sation of S1,920.44 to be paid to en-
ployees who had insurance claims.
Miles NJ Dawson, counsel to Commits
sioner Connor, tried to show that In
come instances at least the scale upon
which the original awards had been
made was suggested by the Wynkoop
Service and that the agency frequently
had one of its own representatives ap-
pear as counsel for the claimant.
One case in question was that of a man
named Wasilowsky, an employee of the
Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal,
whose claim was for the partial loss of
hand. The testimony concerning this
case, adduced from Commissioner Sayer,
was in part as follows:
O. Will you state what award you
made and on what ground? A. T made
an award of 20 per cent. for loss of the
use Of the hand.
O. And the amount? A. With the
amount previously paid 1t amounted to
S624.54.
Q. They had previously paid se2454?
A. No. They had previously paid $26.92.
@. And the additional amount was
how much? A. The additional amount
was s624.54.
Testimony concerning another case in
which an increase of 1927 was made
over the original award ran:
A Jamestown Case.
Q.-Have you also brought with you
the folder containing the case of W. z.
Swanson, being case B-11925. before
Commissioner Lynch?
Al have.
o-What was the name of his en-
ployer?
A-walter E. Swanson. employed by
the Art Metal Construction Company,
Jamestown, ~ Y.
o.-Also Wynkoop company, is It
not?
Own you give the facts concern
ing the accident as shown by the record
and the original award?
AIR. Swanson was injured by hav-
ing the larger part of his index niger.
the larger part of the second finger and
the distil phalange of the ring finger
smputated. An award was made by the
Deputy Commissioner on February Is for
SSh weeks at the rate of $3.50 week.
That award amounted in all to $780, rs.
This award appears to have been made
w OH the basis of forty-six weeks for
the total loss of the index finger, thirty
weeks for the total loss of the second
finger and twelve and a half weeks for
one-half the loss of the ring finger. the
schedule for the ring finger being twenty
five weeks for a total loss.
At a special hearing before Compis-
sioner Lynch on September 6, upon an
examination by our chief medical ex-
aminer, Dr. Louis. gan award was made
for one-half the loss of the use of the
hand. being equal to 1872 weeks at $3.50
per week, the total amount being
sl,0S4 So.
O. That included the amount already
awarded?
A. That included the amount already
awarded and was $297.S2 in excess of
the previous award. The case was also
continued for further consideration with
regard to the wage rate. That has not
yet been finally determined.
Commissioner Conner interrupted the
examination of the witness at this point
to determine on what information the
commission had fixed compensation on
the basis of the claimants daily wage.
Commissioner Sayer said that the report
from the employer showed the claimant
to have been earning sass a day, and
his attention was then directed to let
fer in the files of the case addressed to
the State Industrial Commission from
The Wynkoop Service and in which II
was set forth that the average daily
wage of the claimant was 1891 and
containing the request that awards be
based on that daily wage.
Referring directly to Wynkoop's COM
munication, Commissioner Connor want
ed to know how the latter figure had
been arrived at. Mr.. Sayer explained
that it had been reached by dividing the
Total of wages paid by the total num-
Der Of hours worked. giving the average
rate of pay an hour and multiplying
mis- by nine on the basis of a nine hour
day.
Q. Is that correct method of de-
termlnlng the average daily wages? A. i
Know of no such method that Is recog.
niEed in the law.
q Did you ever see 1t done before
A. Never
y Have you known II to be attempted
before? A. Not before me-
AFTER delving into several other cases
~ which 1t was shown that increased
awards were made to the claimants when
ehe cases were reopened, Commissioner
Nohnor asked the witness
" want TO ask you this question ,
She OF the two chief practices of the
oeate Insurance Fund Is to furnish in
suranee at the lowest possible cost TO
bare cost.
Mystined by Request.
Q In the folder of the Metal Art
construction Company which we had
mere yesterday we found a letter from
r. "yhkoop to the State Insurance
u which he requested the safety
s.,leer TO send man to inspect the
,mant ana In which he also requested
81 ,,.,. whoever was sent should be in
SyUueted not to discuss insurance rates.
onss, would be the object Of such a re-
NhAN0