Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-04-23
City LabOrer Seeks
Disability Compensation

I Inc case OF refer RneduI VS.. tne
Employers Liability Assurance Cor
poration and the Aetna Life Insur-
ance Company was heard Friday af-
ternoon at the municipal court room
before Arthur l.. Thayer, chairman
of the Maine Industrial commission.
! James l.. Boyle appeared for Mr..
Rheaume, Thomas N. Weeks for the
Aetna Life Insurance company and
| Charles ]. McGraw for the Assurance
! Corporation.
| Mr. Rheaume was the first witness
and in substance his testimony
showed that he had been an employe
of the city for 80 years. That on May
| /, 1919, he was at his work and was
pushing sewer rods through the sew
err on Water street when he was taxi
en- with violent pains in the abdomen
and received injuries that resulted in
right and left inguinal hernia. He
stated that he stopped work the next
morning and was laid off II months.
Mr.. Rheaume also stated that four
years previous he received slight inju-
ries in the same manner which re-
suited in small hernias but which did
| not necessitate a cessation of work.
Joseph Hebert, the treasurer of a
French benefit society of which Mr..
Rheaume is a member, told of maxi
ing benefit payments to Rheaume in
June and October, 1918. He stated
that payments are not made for par
tial disability and that he understood
from the doctors certificate that Mr..
Rheaume was not working. Joseph
P. Giroux acted as Interpreter for
Mr.. Hebert.
DIR. P. s. Merrill testified to exarnin-
ing Mr.. Rheaume in the presence OF
the latter's wife and said that he
found punches in the groins and that
Mr. Rheaume had told of having had
punches in the groins for five years,
which had caused considerable dis
comfort. DR.. Merrill said that Mr..
Rheaume said that he had hurt him-
self on May /, 1915 on a cold damp
day. DIR. Merrill said that 1t was un-
usual for a man to be disabled with
hernia for 80 weeks, especially For
reduced hernia. He said it was inn
possible to tell by examination, the
age of a hernia. 4
DR.. N. Bison. the next witness, ties.
titled that he also saw Mr.. Rheaume
in the spring of 1920 and made an ex-
animation. That it was his opinion
that from what he saw man should
MT be suffering much pain. He stat
ed also that Mr.. Rheaume had told
him that the punches were OF several
years standing. A. D. Esty, street
commissioner for the city at. the time
of the alleged injury to Mr.. Rheaume
said that Mr.. Rheaume had hurt his
side and he had reported it to City En-
gineer Crawford in spring OF 1919. He
said that Rheaume was paid his full
salary for three weeks after the in
jury and drew SIS week from the
city until the spring OF 1920. A writ
ten statement from Former Mayor
Wardwell and another from DR.. Il. p.
Hurd were admitted as testimony by
agreement of counsel. The statement
by DIR. Hurd was made in July, 1890.
Miss HENRIETTA Halde, stenograpiier
for the Aetna Life Insurance COM
pany told of a statement Mr.. Rhe-
aume made to the effect that he had
been troubled for Ave years. she
said that she wrote out the sac
ment and read it to him but that ne
would not sign II, Miss Ruth BuEzell
also testified that she took stenogra-
phic notes when Mr.. Rheaume was in
the insurance Office In which he said
that he was hurt March 1, 1916.
The case was brought against the
two companies for the fact that since
December 81, 1918. the liability Of the
city hase been sca Eriexls. .Aatna