Imperial Valley press., 1919-01-11
CAL. INDUSTRIAL
ACCIDENT BOARD
MAKES REPORT

IOE Cne IlSCdl year CHUNG d JullS sOUS !
1918. The outstanding feature of the
report IS tnat there were 81 fewer in
dustrial deaths in California during
1917 than there were in 1916. In 1916
the deaths reported totaled 657, and in
1917 the total was 626. In view of
the larger number of employees IN
1917, and the impetus given to haZ-
ardous employment as result of war
activities, the reduction in Califor
MAS industrial deaths is gratifying.
The total number of reported in
dustrial injuries for 1917 was ,988,
divided as follows: Fatal injuries,
626; permanent injuries, 1912; tenn
porary injuries, 107,420.
Total dependents to the number Of
668 were left as the result of 284
fatalities; 40 partial dependents were
left in rs fatal cases, and 256 fatal
cases there were no dependents, and
in II fatal cases the degree of de-
pendency was shown. The average
age of the wives left dependent was
36.8 wears, and the children's aver
age age wasN7.5 years.
The Commission awarded life pen
sions in eight cases of serious and
permanent injuries. There were H.
| OO7 injuries that caused a time loss
of IS days, or more. The remaining
injuries came within the two weeks
waiting period.
The 109,988 iniure, workers were
awarded $2,769,997 in compensation.
In this sum is included &ne estimates
in all death and permanent injury
cases. The medical. surgical and hos
pital payments totaled $1,17S,357. The
compensation and medical costs total
SO 3,948,3 ,354.
There was a substantial increase in
| the number of acceptances of cOmpen-
sation filed by farmers and house
holders as well as those hiring casual
employees outside Of the employers
| regular business. For all other en-
ployments compensation is compuls-
ory., The total of acceptances Tiled
was 29,317, divided as follows: Farm
inc and kindred occupations, 1912;
! domestic. ,681: casuals, 12,454.
Compensation Department.
There were two noticeable decreases
reported bv the Compensation De-
| partment during the fiscal year: First,
| a decrease in the number of cases
] fled; second, a decrease in the time
between the fling and tn decision OF
] each case. There was decrease OF
over 9 per cent in the number OF
4 cases filed. The time required for
| decision has been reduced, for the or
/ dinary cases, by SO per cent and, for
! all cases, 16 per cent less than the
/ previous year: The average time OF
The ordinary case between fling and
application for adjustment of claim
and decision was So 1-2 days. There
were ,543 contested cases decided
Compensation was awarded to en-
ployees in 692 per cent of the con-
4 tested cases and denied in 21.4 per
cent of the cases decided.
The average age of the killed dur
ing 1917 was 38.8 wears and the aver
age wage was $22.26 week,
Occupational diseases reported in
1917 numbered sos, in 1916, 34S.
There We're 1,947 permanent in
iuries referred to the Permanent Dis
ability Rating Department during
1917. Loss of earning power is the
| basis of the California Compensation
Act in making awards for permanent
| injuries. The loss is determined by
(1) nature Of injury or 'difigurement;
| (2) occupation; (3) age.
| Special Investigation of Permanent
Injuries.
The Commission has commenced a
careful investigation to learn definite
Iy what has become Of the approx
matalv $500 permanently injured
men. all of whom sustained their in
T., I
July ], 1918 Analysis of the reports
indicate that about one case out of
every five is severe enough to con-
stitute a serious handicap. The need
Of Industrial re-education of the per-
nanently crippled is apparent. No
romrensation law fulflls its true pur-
pose unless included under its activi-
ties is a department to guide men
with permanent injuries into new
wa oe-coming capacities.
Expansion has marked the efforts
Of the Safety Department during the
last fiscal wear. Inspections to the
number Of 1,289 We're made by the
Departments engineers and inspect
ors.. in which plants 97,117 employees
were employed. In addition, 1910 ele-
vators were inspected, 841 boilers and
$50 air tanks.
Public hearings were held in San
Francisco and Los Angeles to consider
General Construction Safety Orders.
These orders became effective on Jan
uarv Is, 1918 Committees of en-
ployers, employees and others inter-
ested were appointed to prepare
safety orders for electrical stations,
steam shovels and locomotive cranes,
and for foundry operations.
Employers have continued to patron
ize the State Compensation Insurance
Fund in increasingly large numbers,
and the Fund wrote compensation pre-
miums in 1917 to the amount of ST.
373,792.54, or 24.4 per cent of Cali
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