Industrial Commission v. Drake

Citations

• 103 Ohio St. (N.S.) 628

Syllabus

<p>Workmen’s compensation — Benefits in case of death — Sectior 1463-82, General Code — Dependent persons classified — ■ Maximum award to partly dependent persons — Appeal to common pleas court — Discretion of court and jury — Compensation to child of divorced parents — ■ Custody granted wife but no allowance for support — Obligation of father to support child.</p> <p>1. Section 1465-82, General Code, classifies dependent persons into two classes, to-wit: those wholly dependent and those partly dependent. By the provisions of that section- a discretion is lodged in the industrial commission permitting an award to partly dependent persons equal to the maximum award allowed to wholly dependent persons, provided that in the case of partly dependent persons the award does not exceed the maximum of $5,000. The classification necessarily contemplates that the maximum award should be made to partly dependent persons only in especially meritorious cases.</p> <p>2. Upon appeal the same discretion and duty which were originally lodged in the commission devolve upon the court or jury hearing the appeal.</p> <p>3. The obligation of a father to support his infant children is not excused on the ground that the custody of children has been awarded to a divorced wife in a suit where no order was made for allowance and support of children, and such children are therefore entitled to an award of compensation at the hands of the commission by reason of the father’s death from injuries received in the course of his employment.</p>