https://haylibrary.cvlcollections.org/files/original/7d750aff7530195a224ef89ce9570039.pdf 491adfb061606a10349e5ee555ee4bd8 PDF Text Text Special File No. 184 WORKMEN'S COMPENSATICtf Individual cases involving - Rook Springs Electric Qgmpany ~loyee - Malcolm T. JohDaton 1936 �, • Rock Springs Miner Nov. 27, 1936 •/ ( ~ Court Uph~lds Prior:::;. Compensation Award To Mac T. Johnston # - t-- ~ . _ 4 - -;--1_ _ _"""-"'o.: The district court has affirmed the l prl-or award of $7-50 compensation to Malcolm T. Johnston of Rock I Springs. The decision was announced , by Judge V. J. Tidball early this week. The district court formerly order- ' ed the state treasurer to pay Johnton ·compensation for injuries in- ' curred to his f.o ot while In the employ of the Rock Springs Electric. J. Kirk ·B aldwin, state treasurer, contested the payment and petitioned the court to reopen the case which Judge Tidball did. Baldwin contested the case on its constitutionality. In compliance with the decision of the district court, Johnston has received the amount of the reward. Ienn G. Stanton represented Johnson. - - ___ ___ __ --·~·:::~~ ~ - ... ~ / �I Rocle Springs I;ti.rier 6-19-36 Briefs Required In 1 • ~~!?i~e!s,~~i~?i,9~s! I ! A Johnston compensation case was - -· heardin district court at Green River yesterday. Lawyers for Johnsto~ and the compensatiqn department -0f, the ,state that is fighting the case after the court- previously awarded the' compensation presented arguments with the result that Judge V. J. Tid'ball ordered both sides to present' written briefs. Johnston was awarded $750 for • injuries he incurred while in the employ -0f the Rock Springs Electric. The compensation was allowed after three Rock !Springs doctors made a second e.xamination of Johnston and reported that his Injuries justified I the claim. J. Kirk Baldwin, state treasurer, Is attempting to have the section of the state compensation law under which the claim was made declared unconstitutional. �Rock Springs Rocket Julle 10, 0 I I 1936 ohns @m1 w~rr~· for Co I{De to r ~ftn@fill eRehear~ @@fill .---- Treasurer's Office Tells Reasons for Making Protests "It is the duty of the Workmen's Compensation Department to protect the interest of the fund" Is the comment made by J . Kirk Bald,vin, state· tr'~asurer, in support of the department's reopening of the case of Malcolm T. Johnston of this city. . Johnston was on Feb. 21, 1936, granted an order of award of $750 for permanent partial disability covering an injury sustained on the 15th day of July, 1931, while in the employ of the Roel~' Springs Electric company. The compensation department, under the direction of P . J. Coady, manager, has filed an appeal in the district court at Green River in an effort to set aside the order of award on the grounds that ''The Rock Springs Electric company is no longer in existence and, of course, has no interest in the Workmen's Compensation Fund when . Johncconunued on pai;e !our) Workmen's Compensation fund an~ the State Workmen's Compens~t1on Department was not notified of the hearing, we felt it the further duty of this department as custodian of the fund to mak~ a full investigation of the case 1 ~eri:fore, felt it the duty and ~bllgatio~ of the Workmen's Compensation Department to appeal the order of award passed by the court. . "I would, therefore, say that a.f. tel: a complete investigation of this case that r do not question • the n~atter of disability. However I ~o feel there is a very important point of law involved, concerning the amount of time an injured employe has to make final claim in case of injury. • "I feel that in view of it being ah_nos t five years from the time th1s emp~oye was injured until he I ·· - - v - • made claim _fo_r permanent partial -JOHNSTON A W A R D award that 1t 1s questionable as to . ~he!her or not his present disabilcconunued rrom pni;e one> 1ty IS the result of a direct outston made his final claim for tern- growth of the injury sustained on porary total disability on Oct. 23 July 15, 1931. In having this case 1931." ' :eopened and set down for rehearIn defense of the department's mg by the court, which has been action requesting that the order granted, I feel that we can have , of award be set aside, Coady of- th e question of law involved , fers the followinO': cleared up in an equitable manner "On Feb. 24, 1936, this depart- bo~ to the injured workman's ment received the $750 order of claim and to the industrial acciaward in favor of Johnston and' _ent fund." . upon referring to the Workmen's _The case has been set by Judge Compensation file in the case we Tidball for rehearing during the found that Johnston had made his week of June 18. final claims for temporary total - - - - ~ -- -- d~bility on Oct. 23, 1931. The claim at that time stated that the workman had fully recovered. Naturally, we thought it a case that warranted our full investigation and finding the above related facts and particularly keeping in mind that in October, 1931, the claim recited that he had fully recovered and then approximately five years after Ip.a.king further claims that he was permanently p_artially disabled and compensation award claimed to the amount of $750. "It was also determined that when the district court had a hearing on the case on the 21st day of February, 1936, that the employer, the Rock Springs Electric company, had ceased to do business and had no particular interest in the claims and particularly no financial interest in the �Ro ck Springe Miner Jtme 5, 1936 l .( I Compensation Case Of Mac Johnston Is Set JFor Re-Hearing, ., 1 _..i,....:_ There will ~e a rehearing of the Malcolm T. Johnston compensation case Thursday, 'June 18, ·before Judge V. J. Tidball in Green River. 'S:tate Treasurer J. Kirk Baldwin, who is contesting the case, petitioned the court for tlie rehearing. Judge Tidball heard the first arguments in the case in April w•h en he took th·..!m under advisement. It ls understood that attorneys for J,ohnston will introduce additional evidence at the rehearing, which is regarded as favorable to his contentions. Johnston was awarded $750, compensation in district court in Februs ary for Injuries incurred In 1931 while in the em1>loy of the Rock •Springs Electric. Baldwin, custodian of compensation funds by vll-tue of his state of.flee. failed to comply with the court's ',)rder and Instead asked the ·d istrict •court to reopen the case. This was done after three Rock Springs p-hysiclans, Doctors Lauzer, Chambers and McCrann, at the request of Baldwin, rirexamined Johnston and reported that "he (J•o hnston) Is entitled to a permanent partial d,isa'bi!ity of 50 percent of the loss of the leg below the knee." :Baldwin is attempttng to prove that the ,s ection of the state's com:. pensation -laws which entitles John- ' ston to -the award is unconstitu- . tionail. This particular • section was pa,s sed by the last legislature and i was considered by the 193,5 leglsla-, tors as especially beneficial t!o Wyo-· m,lng workm·en. '--I) i) �Rock Springe M;iner 4-24-36 State Treasurer :···eontests Legality Of Compensation Arter tihe ,c~~sa~ion cl.epartment of Wyoming was- successful in reope_n!ng the compensation case of _M~ lcolm T. Johnston, of Rock , Springs, attorneys for both the state . and J•o hnston appeared before Judge V. J. Tidiball in dstirict C0u\rt a.t Green River Wednesday to argue th'e case. Judge Tidball took the case under adv:isement. A compensation1 award of $750 was granted Johnston !n district -court !Feb. 25, 1936, and the state .ordered to pay him for injuries incurred in 1931 while In the employ of the Rock Springs Electric. Instead of complying w:ith the court's order J . Kirk Baldwin, state treasurer wlio by virtue of his office, is In C'harge of compensation funds, filed a petition in dh1trlct court to re-open the case on grounds .tha,t section 124-113 of the Wyoming Compensation law is unconstitu,tionnl. This · particular section was passed by the last legislature a.ncl was considered by, the 1935 legislators as important i lld b~nefl<'al;to w::omiug workmen. • While legality of the entire sec- , tion is to be t ested the following , portion pa1•ticularly is ,to come to th·e.· attention of the judiciary of Wyo-ming: ..,. "Where an award of compensa-· tion has been made in favor of ~ Injured employe, an application may ·be made to the court by either ,p arty any time after one year from -da,te of award, for a modification of the amount of the award on groun,d of Increase or decrease ot Incapacity due solely to the injury or- upon the ground of m1stake or fraud.'' Arter the compensation department was successful In reopening the ca.se It commissioned three Rock Springs- doctors, Dr. E. S. Lauzer, I Dr. Oliver Cliambers and Dr. P. M . . McCrann, to make a. thorough ex- I aminatlon! of Johnston's injuries and · report their findings to the department. Their report was: "We feel that as a. result of the injury received :Jie (Johnston) is en•t ltled to a permanent partial •df.s,. abillty of fifty percent of the loss of the leg below th'e knee." The doctors designated Johnston',s injury as a. Po_tt.s fracture 01 th~ right an~le. 1 • 1 Baldwin contends that: . 1 The court was wi.thout jurisdiction and lbases claim of la<:.k of j i diction on the following. ur(!) Section •. 124-113, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1936, 1s unco:; . stltutional in that the title to 1~0 a mended Act, .to-wit, ,chapter • Lo/ in-c omplete and makes no reference to amended Section 124-130, 'Wyoming Revised 1Statutes, 1931, "'i h in effect ' said amendment Wiu C , attempts to amend. . ('b) The amendment 1n ques- ' tton ·which undertakes -to remove the statute limitations on opening up awi rds is not retroactive and only applies to accidents happening subsequent to the passage of sa'id amendment of 1936. (c) Because the court did not 'X'equire any showdng on the part of the em<ployee of diUgence :before ,consentlng·fo open up the orlgina\ award. ·:· • ·2. iBecause ,t he evidence fails to show that the present alleged ag.g regate inj~ry was due to the accident. 1 WHEREFORE, petitioner prays that the said awards may 'be stay- : ed and that the matter 1be •set \ do~ for hearing upon due notice i to the employer a.nd employee._ /j £ ·-. - -- �Rock Sp.r.i.iJ 4-23-36 gs RocJcet - v - - - - - -- - J udge Considers Motion to S'et Aside ~ohn~ton Award A motion made in district court yesterday to set aside an award 1 previously issued by the court in 1 the compensation case of Malcolm 1 T. Johnston, former employe of the Rock Springs Electric company, was taken under advisement by Judge V. J. Tidball. Assistant Attorney General Snow represented the state while , Glenn Stanton, Rock Springs attorney, represented the plaintiff. During court yesterday a divorce was granted Zelda Roundy from Ivor S. Roundy on the grounds of non-support. �I /, ( Rock springs Miner !-'arch 27, I \ \; / 1936 • Rehearing of Johnston Compensation Case Is i Set for A p r ii 2 2: The compensation case of Malcolm T. Johnston was set for hearing , April 22 in district court by Judge• V. J. Tidball, in a one-day session of court held Thursday. Johnston was previously awarded · permanent partially disability in district court and given an award of $750 for injuries incurred while in the employ of the Rock Springs Electric. The casl:l was considered settled until J. Kirk Baldwin, state treasurer, objected to the ?,,S fijtd ··a nd called for a rehearinR,.,~y.'l!'· . ~ -- - - -- / I - \ l �_h;_·(, r ----o---t~_,.. , Ro ck Springs Rocket ~~arch 24, 1936, ' Compensation to Springs Man is • Fought by State The state compensation department is appealing an award recently allowed by the district court to Malcolm Johnston for permanent-· or ·pa.rttar-a!sabillty suffered by Johnston while an etnploye of the Rock Springs Electric company and is disputing the award made to Dr. B. V. McDermott and Elizabeth Wendt in the hearing. The department objects to . the claim previously filed by Johnston approximately four years after the injury. The state claims that the court did not require any showing on the part of the employe of diligence before consenting to open up the original award. . The .c ompensation department also claims that the evidence failed to show that the present .alleged aggravated injury was due to the • accident. The state · has asked that the matter be set down for hearing at the earliest possible ·.convenience of the court. •. Johnston was awarded $750 by the district court on Feb. 21. The sum was based on 50 per cent of the amount awarded for the loss of a leg . below the knee. �T. s. Taliafex>ro, Jr.: Thank you fo::r the copy of your letter to Mr. Balduin of ~ebruary 26th. I he.d noticed this compensation award by the papers, and i JG is certainly strange that this boy has not :presented· llis cla:lra in the five yearo he has been di.sabled. / I / _I Orl " h • 1 <' 1- , ~ : GEUt1 uL o, fRY DE A. M. 0 . FEB 281936 �f<ECEIVED FEB 2 n1936 _ _g,NE"RJI.L r.MNAGER :: -~coll:1 T. 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FEB 261936 ... f �'HE ROCK SPRINQS ROCKET, ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1936 ~-------------- -----Johnston Given Compensation by • District Court Malcolm T. Johnston of Rock Springs, former employe of the Rock Springs Electric company, was awarded compensation. for injuries to his ankle equal to 50 per cent of the loss of a leg below the knee, in district court at Green River yesterday by Judge V. J. Tidball. Johnston was injured July 15, 1931, while taking down an electric sign in Green River. A rod holding the sign broke, causing Johnston to fall to the sidewalk breaking his right leg above the ankle. Compensation had been paid the workman for temporary total dis- I ability up to Sept. 10, 1931. Later I his ankle became stiff as the re- 1 suit of the injury, causing a per- ' manent disability. ' While there was no dispute on the part of the company as to • Johnston's claim for compensation, it was necessary for the court to determine whether he was now entitled to compensation under the law, which does not provide directly for such cases. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Union Pacific Collection Description An account of the resource This collection is made possible in part by a generous grant from Wyoming Humanities. All materials are the property of Union Pacific Coal Company, on long-term loan at Western Wyoming Community College. For usage inquiries, contact the <a href="https://www.uprrmuseum.org">Union Pacific Museum</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Workman's Compensation Rock Springs Electric Company 1936 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CC BY-NC-ND Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1936 Subject The topic of the resource Workman's Compensation, Rock Springs Electric Company, 1936 Description An account of the resource Newspaper clippings and letters regarding Workman's Compensation involving Malcolm T. Johnston and the Rock Springs Electric Company. The papers are held together by a brass pin. Some pages are faded may be hard to read. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource T.S. Taliaferro. Jr. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1-0215 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Union Pacific Coal Co.