Whittle v. National Aniline & Chemical Co.

Citations

• 266 Pa. 356
• 109 A. 847
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 575

Syllabus

<p>Workmen’s compensation — Death—Disease—Aggravation of disease — Findings of referee.</p> <p>1. A finding of a referee under the Workmen’s Compensation Act that an employee of a chemical company died as the result of injuries received in the course of his employment, will he sustained, where such finding, based on sufficient medical evidence, is in effect that at tbe time of the accident deceased was suffering- from malignant cancer or carcinoma, although, at the time, its development had not reached the stage to cause him inconvenience, and was not noticeable; that the natural course of the disease was gradual and slow; that the development after the accident was not such as would have been expected without an intervening cause; that, as the beginning of the rapid growth was coincident with the accident, and as there was nothing to indicate another cause, death resulted from the accident.</p> <p>2. An objection that there was absence of a finding that death was hastened by the accident is sufficiently answered by a finding that “this rapid development continued and progressed until it finally caused the decedent’s death.”</p> <p>3. In such a case, a statement was made by the referee that the medical testimony “indicated that a local injury might cause an otherwise slow growing cancer to light up and develop with great rapidity.” It was argued that the language used was not evidence that the local injury aggravated the disease and should be considered merely as evidence that it might do so, and, consequently, was insufficient proof that such result followed in this case. Held^ while a strict interpretation of the language used by the referee would justify the criticism made, if the purpose was to state the precise substance of the medical testimony as applied to this particular case, yet a careful reading of the paragraph in which the clause in question was used fails to convince the court that the referee intended to do no more than make a general statement of pr