Court Opinion

ID: 9538465
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:36:49.690697+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:57:53.922504
License: Public Domain

WILKINS, Justice
(dissenting):
I respectfully dissent.
On March 31, 1976, Ivan Thurman was employed by the Church as a janitor of a meetinghouse in Midvale, Utah. That morning, Thurman was setting up tables and chairs for a meeting therein. He felt fine as he began the work, but as he continued, he experienced unusual fatigue and weakness in his arms and back. Despite the weakness and fatigue, he continued setting up chairs and tables until he finished *331preparing the rooms for the meeting. He then sat down to rest. After Thurman had relaxed in a chair for a few minutes, the telephone rang, and as he stood up to answer it, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. The pain caused him to sit down again. He was able to continue work but not without pain, and he subsequently received medical treatment.
Upon these facts, the Industrial Commission awarded compensation on November 3, 1977. On November 18, 1977, the Commission entered a supplemental order amending the award in part. A petition for writ of review was filed with this Court on January 27,1978, pursuant to Utah Code Ann., 1953, Sec. 35-1-83. All other statutory references are also to this code.
On appeal, the Plaintiff asks this Court to reverse the finding of the Commission that Thurman was injured “by accident arising out of or in the course of his employment” as is required by the Utah Workmen’s Compensation Act as a prerequisite to obtaining an award of compensation. Sec. 35-1-45.
Our power to review such a finding by the Commission is limited. Under the Workmen’s Compensation Act (hereafter “Act”) it is the prerogative of the Industrial Commission to find facts. Sec. 35-1-85 reads in relevant part as follows:
The findings and conclusions of the commission on questions of fact shall be conclusive and final and shall not be subject to review .
Further, Sec. 35-1-84 provides in part:
Upon such review the court may affirm or set aside such award, but only on the following grounds: (1) That the commission acted without or in excess of its powers; (2) That the findings of fact do not support the award.
This Court has interpreted these sections as establishing the rule that the Commission’s findings of fact shall not be subject to review by this Court if there is substantial evidence furnishing a reasonable basis to support such findings. See concurring opinion of Justice Maughan in Savage v. Industrial Commission, Utah, 565 P.2d 782 (1977); Evans v. Industrial Commission, 28 Utah 2d 324, 502 P.2d 118 (1972); Hackford v. Industrial Commission, 14 Utah 2d 184, 380 P.2d 927 (1963).
Hence, the question we must answer is whether there is substantial evidence furnishing a reasonable basis to support the finding of the Commission that Thurman was injured by accident arising out of or in the course of his employment.
The Act does not itself define the word “accident,” but this Court has interpreted the term to mean an occurrence of an unintended, unforeseen and unusual event. Carling v. Industrial Commission, 16 Utah 2d 260, 399 P.2d 202 (1965). Perhaps the most common incident to qualify as an accident is where an employee is struck by an object or where he falls and strikes a portion of his body against an object. An incident need not, however, include contact by an object with the employee’s body in order to constitute an accident. It is settled beyond question that an internal failure brought about by over-exertion in the course of employment may qualify as an accident within the meaning of the Act. Id.; Jones v. California Packing Corp., 121 Utah 612, 244 P.2d 640 (1952).
The Act requires that the accident arise out of or in the course of employment. Sec. 35-1-45. An accident arises out of the course of employment if there is a causal connection between the employment and the accident. M & K Corporation v. Industrial Commission, 112 Utah 488, 189 P.2d 132 (1948). An accident arises in the course of employment if it occurs on the premises where the work is being performed, Edwards v. Industrial Commission, 87 Utah 127, 48 P.2d 459 (1935).
The Commission’s finding of an accident is supported by claimant’s testimony and the reports of two physicians who examined claimant after the injury. Claimant testified that he felt unusual fatigue while lifting chairs and tables, and that shortly after the lifting, he experienced sharp back pain. Two physicians who examined claimant reported that there was a causal connection between the heavy lifting and the injury. *332The medical panel concluded that claimant’s injury was not caused by a pre-existing condition. Certainly these testimonies constitute substantial evidence to support the Commission’s finding of a compensable injury.
Our decision in Redman Warehousing Corp. v. Industrial Commission, 22 Utah 2d 398, 454 P.2d 283 (1969), is easily distinguishable from the instant case. In Red-man, the Commission had found the sitting and driving by the employee of the employer’s car as the cause of the back injury suffered by claimant. This Court reversed an award of compensation on the ground that there was a complete absence of competent proof to support any finding with respect to the cause of injury. Here there is substantial evidence of causation.
It should also be noted that this Court has repeatedly held that the Workmen’s Compensation Act should be liberally applied in favor of coverage of the employee. See Askren v. Industrial Commission, 15 Utah 2d 275, 391 P.2d 302 (1964). We have often pointed out that any doubt concerning the right to compensation should be resolved in favor of the employee. See M & K Corporation v. Industrial Commission, ante. I discern no reason for departing from these well-established and salutary rules in this case.
Thus, in my opinion, there is ample support in the law and evidence for the award of compensation and we therefore ought to affirm the decision of the Commission.
MAUGHAN, J., concurs in the views expressed in the dissenting opinion of WILKINS, J.