Court Opinion

ID: 9538741
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:41:01.362691+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:58:07.883894
License: Public Domain

CARTER, J.
I dissent. The majority opinion in this case is a definite departure from what has been considered the settled law of this state in industrial accident cases, namely, that where specific findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence, an award based thereon will be affirmed. Here the commission found, on evidence assumed by the majority to be sufficient to support such findings, that petitioner knowingly and wilfully failed:
(a) To furnish employment, and a place of employment, which was safe for the work.
*130(b) To furnish and use proper, sufficient and adequate safety devices and safeguards; to wit: the necessary and required securing, bracing, and guying of the prefabricated parts of a building, then being erected, so as to prevent the fall or collapse thereof during the construction and thereby render such employment, and construction, and place of employment safe for the work.
(e) To adopt and use those practices, means, methods, and operations, in securing, bracing and guying the prefabricated parts of a building then being erected, so as to prevent the fall or collapse during the construction thereof and thereby render such employment, and construction, and place of employment safe for the work.
(d) To do those things which a prudent employer would have done, had it turned its mind to the fact, and which were required to secure, brace, and guy the prefabricated parts of a building, to protect the life, limb and safety of the employees.
(e) To use and to exercise that degree of prudence, foresight and caution which, under the circumstances, a prudent employer would then and there have used and exercised, had it turned its mind to the fact, in requiring, permitting and directing its employees to go, work, and be, in employment, and construction, and place of employment, that was then and there unsafe.
(f) To use and to exercise that degree of prudence and caution which, under the circumstances, a prudent employer would then and there have used and exercised, had it turned its mind to the fact, in requiring and directing its employees, to work upon, or in connection with, the erection of prefabricated parts of a building, without first insuring and securing proper, adequate, and necessary bracing and guying so as to prevent the collapse of said structure during, and in the course of, said erection and construction.
(g) To comply with the requirements of Labor Code, sections 6400, 6401, 6402, and 6403, and each of them, neglecting, and omitting, to provide, secure, furnish and maintain, in place, and at the place of employment, necessary and adequate bracing and guying of the prefabricated parts of a building then being erected so as to prevent its fall or collapse during, and in the course of, said construction.
The majority assumes that the evidence is sufficient to support such findings, but nevertheless annuls the award because it interprets these findings as supporting a conclusion *131that petitioner was guilty of negligence only. By what legerdemain may it be said that an employer who is found guilty of serious and wilful misconduct because he knowingly and wilfully failed to provide a safe place for his employees to work, is guilty of negligence only? The answer to this question contained in the majority opinion is based upon a process of reasoning out of harmony with the social philosophy which postulated the statutory provisions here involved and renders them ineffective. This philosophy stems from the basic concept that industry should bear the burden of injuries suffered by working men and women in the course of their employment, and since the employer could insure against injuries resulting from negligence it was necessary, in order to force employers to comply with safety regulations and provide safe places of employment, that they be subjected to increased awards to those injured as the result of their wilful failure to so comply. This philosophy is embodied in our statutes, and cases arising thereunder which have come to this court for review indicate judicious consideration by the Industrial Accident Commission. The ease at bar is no exception.
Brushing aside the sophistry with which the majority opinion is replete, what are the realities of the situation here presented? They clearly show the evidence was sufficient. A building collapsed in the course of construction and four men working thereon were seriously injured—two of them fatally. It is admitted that the cause of the collapse was insufficient bracing—that this condition was called to the attention of the employer’s superintendent and he did nothing to correct it although he had ample time and the means to do so. In other words the building was unsafe because it was not sufficiently braced and the employer knew that it was therefore highly dangerous—a danger that would inevitably result in serious injuries and death. Yet with that knowledge he put the workmen on the job. Certainly if an employer knows a place of work is fraught with grave danger but still compels his employees to face that danger, he evinces a reckless disregard of the safety of his employees. Whatever may have been the motives for his conduct, to save money, or time or to satisfy a sadistic impulse is not important. The weak excuse of the superintendent that he thought the building had enough bracing cannot change the result. The commission could disbelieve his testimony as to what he thought and conclude that he had full knowledge that the building was in an unsafe condition. On this evidence, the commis*132sion found that the employer knowingly and wilfully failed to provide a safe place of employment for the men who were injured and that such failure constituted serious and wilful misconduct. I do not see how the commission could have found otherwise. But the majority of the court seems to be more concerned with technical terms and phraseology than the liberal application of the law enacted for the protection of working men and women who have suffered loss of life and serious injuries as the result of its violation. In fact, the whole tenor of the majority opinion is to emphasize the burden placed on the employer by this legislation and minimize its salutary objective. It is the age-old reactionary concept of property rights above human welfare: What does it matter that working men and women are killed and injured because industrial enterprises are unsafe so long as employers can escape liability? To guard against injury to employees may cost the employer money, so why should he do so without compulsion? The answer is that experience has shown that some employers will not provide safety devices unless forced to do so, hence the remedial legislation here involved—that life and limb of employees be protected against unnecessary risks even if it costs the employer money to do so. Not only has the Legislature spoken by creating the liability of increased awards where serious and wilful misconduct is involved, but it has declared it to be the duty of the courts to liberally construe the provisions of the act “with the purpose of extending their benefits for the protection of persons injured in the course of their employment.” (Emphasis added.) (Lab. Code, § 3202.) This legislation has been generally accepted as extending to working men and women a measure of the economic and social justice to which people in industrial employment are entitled. Thinking people agree that social progress means, generally speaking, the gradual advancement of human welfare toward greater physical, moral and cultural enjoyment of life. The legislation here involved tends toward this objective and should be liberally construed to achieve it. The present decision finds no parallel in the annals of the judicial history of this state in its antithesis of liberal construction with respect to both the act here involved and the proceedings before the Industrial Accident Commission and this court.
The majority opinion assumes that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of serious and wilful misconduct on the part of the employer and therefore increased benefits *133could be properly awarded against it under section 4553 of the Labor Code, but it annuls the award on the grounds that the findings are not sufficient to support the award; that they are based upon the theory that negligence constitutes wilful misconduct and that all that was found was negligence.
The main contention made by the petitioner here is that the evidence is insufficient to support a finding of serious and wilful misconduct, yet the majority refuses to pass upon that question. (It is a matter I will discuss later herein.) That refusal violates the policy expressed by statutes dealing with decisions on appeal that where a new trial is granted the court shall “pass upon and determine all questions of law involved in the ease, presented upon such appeal, and necessary to the final determination of the case.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 53.) It is especially pertinent here for when the case goes back to the commission all it needs to do is to amend its findings. Petitioner will again seek a review of the case urging its main point that the evidence is insufficient. If the court decides it is insufficient then the case can be retried with additional evidence and another review sought. Such delays are inexcusable and should not be countenanced.
The findings are clearly sufficient. They read that the employee was injured by reason of the “serious and wilful misconduct” of the employer “in the manner and more particularly as follows.” Then follow various particular findings. We need go no further under the law than the findings of serious and wilful misconduct; the particular findings may be ignored. A finding of serious and wilful misconduct in those words—the words of the statute (Lab. Code, § 4553)—is sufficient. (California Shipbuilding Corp. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 31 Cal.2d 270 [188 P.2d 27]; Kaiser Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 81 Cal.App.2d 818 [185 P.2d 353] ; General Petroleum Corp. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 90 Cal.App. 101 [265 P. 508]; Clarke v. Industrial Acc. Com., 87 Cal.App. 766 [262 P. 471] ; Dawson v. Industrial Acc. Com., 54 Cal.App.2d 594 [129 P.2d 479]; Vega Aircraft v. Industrial Acc. Com., 27 Cal.2d 529 [165 P.2d 665] ; Lumbermen's Mut. Cas. Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 29 Cal.2d 492 [175 P.2d 823] ; Ethel D. Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 219 Cal. 699 [28 P.2d 919].) It is equally clear that a court will not annul an award if the findings are inconsistent. If there are findings which will sustain the award other findings which would annul it are not available for that purpose. (George L. Eastman Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 186 *134Cal. 587 [200 P. 17] ; Southern Pac. Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 177 Cal. 378 [170 P. 822] ; Coombs v. Industrial Acc. Com., 76 Cal.App. 565 [245 P. 445] ; Hines v. Industrial Acc. Com., 215 Cal. 177 [8 P.2d 1021].) It necessarily follows that the majority holding which annuls the award by relying upon findings other than the ultimate one of serious and wilful misconduct is squarely contrary to the foregoing authorities. Yet none of them is even discussed. If it is the intention of the majority to overrule those cases it should be done openly and frankly. Moreover the statutory required liberal construction of the workmen’s compensation laws (Lab. Code, § 3202) demands that the findings be liberally construed to support the award.
In addition to the findings of the ultimate fact of wilful misconduct, the commission expressly found the existence of wilful misconduct in detail. After making the ultimate finding, it is said that the misconduct occurred particularly as follows: That at and prior to the time of the collapse the employer “did knowingly and wilfully fail”; then follow seven separate paragraphs (a to g) specifying what the employer wilfully and knowingly failed to do or did, such as to furnish a safe place for the employee to work, to furnish and use proper safety devices, namely, bracing and guying for the structure so as to prevent its collapse. That such findings are adequate is beyond doubt. If an employer knowingly and wilfully fails to furnish a safe place for the employee to work (a safe place of employment is required by the safety laws of this state*) or to furnish supports to prevent a certain building from collapsing and injuring and killing workmen, we have the clearest case of serious and wilful misconduct that could be imagined.
The majority opinion cannot be reconciled with numerous cases. In Parkhurst v. Industrial Acc. Com., 20 Cal.2d 826 [129 P.2d 113], this court annulled a commission finding of no wilful misconduct stating: “It has been held repeatedly *135that the employment of workmen under dangerous conditions that can he guarded against constitutes a reckless disregard for their safety. (Emphasis added.) (Hatheway v. Industrial Acc. Com., supra, [13 Cal.2d 377 (90 P.2d 68)] ; Hoffman v. Department of Indus. Relations, supra, [209 Cal. 383 (287 P. 974, 68 A.L.R. 294)] ; Pacific Emp. Ins. Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., supra, [209 Cal. 412 (288 P. 66)]; Gordon v. Industrial Acc. Com., supra, Blue Diamond Plaster Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., supra, [188 Cal. 403 (205 P. 678)] ; Johannsen v. Industrial Acc. Com., 113 Cal.App. 162 [298 P. 99].) ” In Hatheway v. Industrial Acc. Com., 13 Cal.2d 377, 380 [90 P.2d 68], the principles are stated and cases discussed: “It has frequently been said that wilful misconduct involves the knowledge of the person that the thing which he is doing is wrong. . . . Conceding that knowledge is required, it seems to us that in order to prove the requisite knowledge, it is not necessary for the evidence to show positively that the person was notified of the unsafe condition of his premises, but that it is sufficient if it appears that the circumstances surrounding the act of commission or omission are such as ‘ evince a reckless disregard for the safety of others and a willingness to inflict the injury complained of.’ ”
“The cases are quite uniform to the effect that permitting employees to work under dangerous conditions which are capable of being guarded against, constitutes such a reckless disregard for the safety of the employees that the Commission’s finding that such conduct is serious and wilful will not be disturbed. The mere fact the employer did not believe the condition was dangerous does not relieve him from liability. Thus in Blue Diamond Plaster Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 188 Cal. 403, 409 [205 P. 678], the employee was killed as a result of the failure of the employer to place guards on machinery. The managing agents of the employer testified that they knew of the condition, but stated that they did not consider the condition unsafe. ‘ Their mistake in judgment upon that subject cannot be held to relieve their employer from liability. ’ An award based on serious and wilful misconduct was affirmed. In Hoffman v. Department of Industrial Relations, 209 Cal. 383 [287 P. 974, 68 A.L.R. 294], it was held that where the employer violated the terms of a statute providing for a specified type of temporary flooring and its method of construction to be used when erecting a building, he was guilty of serious *136and wilful misconduct, even though the employer was ignorant of the provisions of the statute. In Pacific Emp. Ins. Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 209 Cal. 412 [288 P. 66], the employee was injured by an unguarded saw. The employer was held guilty of serious and wilful misconduct although the saw had been in operation but a week, and the employer testified that he intended to place a guard thereon. In Gordon v. Industrial Acc. Com., 199 Cal. 420 [249 P. 849, 58 A.L.R. 1374], the employee was killed in a cave-in of a gravel pit. It was held that compelling an employee to work in a dangerous spot, without taking protective measures, where the employer knows or should have known of the danger is serious and wilful misconduct. In holding an employer guilty of serious and wilful misconduct under somewhat similar circumstances the appellate court in Johannsen v. Industrial Acc. Com., 113 Cal.App. 162, 166 [298 P. 99], stated: ‘Had he (the employer) turned his mind to a consideration of the subject he must have known that a person working in the trench was in jeopardy, which danger could readily have been obviated by the necessary bracing. ’ ”
While the above cited cases differ factually from the case at bar the philosophy and legal concept of those cases is equally applicable here. The dangerous character of the place where the employees were required to work was obvious. If it was not known it was of such a character that it should have been known. Steps could easily have been taken to alleviate the danger but the employer did nothing whatsoever and sent the employees on that dangerous mission with reckless disregard of their safety.
To evade the specific provisions of the findings that the acts causing the collapse of the building were wilfully and knowingly done and hence wilful misconduct, the majority uses various devices. It ignores the express findings that the various things done or omitted and listed in paragraphs a to g are all qualified by the phrase preceding those paragraphs that the failure was wilful and knowing.
It discusses those paragraphs which appear to speak of negligence, failing, however, to stress the ones which do not point to negligence such as that the employer wilfully and knowingly failed to supply guy wires and braces for the structure. The findings pointing toward negligence should be disregarded under the authorities heretofore cited holding that such is the rule with regard to commission findings *137and the rule which demands liberal construction of the findings. Even on appeal where findings of a court are reviewed, the rule is: “An appellate court will construe findings liberally in support of the judgment. Any uncertainties will be construed so as to uphold rather than defeat the judgment, that is, to give it effect rather than destroy it. All the findings are to be read together, and must be reconciled to prevent any conflict on material points, if possible. Even if there is only one clear, sustained, and sufficient finding upon which a judgment may rest, it will be presumed that the court did rest the judgment on that finding.
“In reviewing the sufficiency of findings to support a judgment, the appellate court will regard the ultimate facts found and not mere probative facts, unless the trial court’s findings show that the probative facts are the only facts proved and that they alone are the basis for its finding of the ultimate facts. In the absence of such a showing, the mere circumstance that some of the probative facts are inconsistent with the ultimate facts will not prevent the ultimate facts from controlling. And whenever the facts found are such as might authorize different inferences, it will be presumed that the inference made by the trial court was one that will uphold rather than defeat the judgment. In such a case the appellate court will not draw any inference contrary to that which might have been drawn by the trial court for the purpose of rendering its judgment.” (4 Cal.Jur.2d, Appeal and Error, § 571.) (Emphasis added.)
The majority states that the theory of law adopted by the commission in its findings and award was erroneous. That, however, ignores the rule that: “It is, of course, immaterial that the theory upon which the judgment may be affirmed is not identical with that relied upon by plaintiffs or by the trial court, since plaintiffs are required only to plead and prove facts sufficient to justify relief, and the trial court’s judgment must be affirmed if the findings, supported by the evidence, are sufficient to warrant the relief granted on any legal theory.” (Sears v. Rule, 27 Cal.2d 131, 140 [163 P.2d 443]; 4 Cal.Jur.2d, Appeal and Error, § 536.) There is ample here in the evidence and findings to support the theory that wilful misconduct is more than negligence and is what the majority opinion describes it to be.
Other things stated in the majority opinion, although dictum, require comment. It is said that the increased award for wilful misconduct is a penalty and hence such an award *138can be sustained only if the commission finds every fact essential to its imposition. In the first place the additional compensation is not a penalty. That was held in E. Clemens Horst Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 184 Cal. 180 [193 P. 105, 16 A.L.R. 611], where the court held the provision for increased compensation was not even exemplary damages and hence was constitutional. That holding is based upon the obvious truth that ordinary compensation does not fully cover the loss suffered by the employee. (E. Clemens Horst Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., supra, 184 Cal. 180; Western Indemnity Co. v. Pillsbury, 170 Cal. 686 [151 P. 398]; West v. Industrial Acc. Com., 79 Cal.App.2d 711 [180 P.2d 972].) Secondly, that statement is contrary to the above discussed rules that only ultimate facts need be found and findings must be liberally construed. In this same connection the statement that conduct any less culpable than wilful misconduct would be an “unlawful taking of the property of one person and unwarranted giving it to another” is also incorrect for the same reasons.
The majority opinion brushes aside such cases as Bethlehem Steel Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 23 Cal.2d 659 [145 P.2d 583] and Parkhurst v. Industrial Acc. Com., 20 Cal.2d 826 [129 P.2d 113], holding wilful misconduct was present where a safety order was violated with the comment that in the case at bar expert judgment was involved in guying the structure and no safety order was involved. Just as much expert judgment was involved and the safety order was substantially the same in those cases. Here we have the safety statutes and in the Bethlehem ease the safety requirement was that loads transported by trucks be secured against displacement. The safety statute here requires that the structure be safe, that is, secured against collapsing by sufficient guy wires or bracing. This the employer knew but wilfully disregarded. Such disregard constituted serious and wilful misconduct.
I would therefore affirm the awards here made.
Respondents ’ petition for a rehearing was denied February 2, 1953. Carter, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted. Shenk, J., did not participate therein.

"Every employer shall furnish employment and a place of employment which are safe for the employees therein.” (Lab. Code, § 6400.) "Every employer shall furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, and shall adopt and use practices, means, methods, operations, and processes, which are reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of employment safe. Every employer shall do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life and safety of employees.” (Lab. Code, § 6401.) ‘‘ ‘Safe’ and ‘safety’ as applied to an employment or a place of employment mean such freedom from danger to the life or safety of employees as the nature of the employment reasonably permits.” (Lab. Code, § 6310.)