Edward Stern & Co. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance

Citations

• 269 Pa. 559
• 112 A. 865
• 1921 Pa. LEXIS 611

Syllabus

<p>Workmen’s Compensation Act — Minors—Employment in industrial establishment — Insurance—Making out case by showing illegal contract.</p> <p>1. A minor illegally employed in an industrial establishment is not a compensable employee under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.</p> <p>2. Where an employer’s insurance policy covers injuries sustained by employees, (a) under the Workmen’s Compensation Act and (b) where a “liability is imposed upon the employer by the laws of Pennsylvania for damages on account of such injuries,” the court cannot limit the claims to those arising under the Compensation Act, as the policy was manifestly intended to reach common law liability, based on an employment not specifically within the terms of the Compensation Act.</p> <p>3. Such a policy is not a contract to indemnify against the consequences of the violation of a penal statute relating to the employment of minors under sixteen, and therefore contrary to public policy. It is a contract to indemnify against loss through accidents to employees.</p> <p>4. The illegal employment of a minor under sixteen was an incidental and independent transaction, in no way primarily connected with the issuing or working out of the policy.</p> <p>5. It is only when a party is obliged to make out his case by showing an illegal contract or transaction, that he is not entitled to recover.</p>