ARBITRATION COURT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 310, 24 September 1908, Page 11

ARBITRATION COURT.

CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION. ■ WILCOX : v. WELLINGTON HOSPITAL . BOARD. JTOGMENT, EOE ; RESPONDENTS; Tho'/judgment of the Court of Arbitration ii tiief'case "of"Harry Wilcox (claimant);v.• the'\Yelljngton District Hospital Board (respondents) was filed.-yesterday. • Claimant'.' was/ 'the. Court -said, suffering' fronivdiliitation of the heart. Ho alleged that, it : Wasv caused, .by" an .'accident which happened to him on,' March 4j. 1908, while he was working at.;the; Otaki Sanatorium.' At the time!Kc: was.lifting a stump to put it on his' shoulder, when he'felt, he said,' something'in his-"inside, and felt,also a alight. painl'iii.i 'left side. On this .evening of March 6 he did not feel well, and was Buffering! frfim' palpitation. Dr. Huthwaitej the . -at'the •-sana-. toriunij' .toldihim that his trouble, was indigestion, i-.and prescribed medicine for it. Claim-, ant continued, at work, with,,an occasional day;^off,Vuntil Ajpril 16, when he. left the, respondents','service. Ho .vraa examined oil Majv'llfby.-jDr.' Martin, of Palmerston North, who'.fp!ind'that ho. was suffering from dilatation [of .'the' heart." In .the doctor's opinion, it was'an "old standing trouble. That was the lopiniori; also 'of.-Dr./Fyffe, who examined claimant on-August 24."-It was confirmed-by a statement'made by. claimant to Dr. Martin, ;tHat; he .had strained, his heart seven years before, and by the evidonce' of George Taylflr; who.liad stated that in September or October," 1904, claimant 1 liad told him "that on a':. prevjous occasion he had strained liis besrt. .- ■•. .. - , ■ ty,was clear, thf Court held, that the dilat»t»n ef the heart from which claimant was Bufi'eriiig' when • .examined by • Dri Martin'was not caused originally by anything list. happened on March' 4, and it was not BttisEed that,the dilatation was increased bytk# 'strain of the, work in which claimant-was eKwiged'on-tha'ti Dr. Martin and Dr. Fyfl«i-Vgreed:.'that- if the strain of that .work bad'caused; any sudden increase of the dilatation'there'H'ould have been more distress than vclaimaji.t:. suffered at. the-time, and it would have "teen impossible' for him' to havo continued; at. : work as ho did after, the, supposed accident: ' the case, as; suggested by Dr. Fyffe, that the strain of the ,work;which claimant was doing on March 4 made.him.feel'more acutely the effects'of the - dilafetion. from- which he was suffering, ■ but-did ;not'increase that dilatation' in any. way; : 'The'.claimant had failed to prove that' the dilatation from which ho was suffering was eithencaused, or increased appreciably, by the-'strain of the work in which he was engaged on-March 4,"0r that lie su/fered'any other injury from the strain of that work. It : was unnecessary, ■ therefore, to consider the questions raised by the respondent as to tho.' waivttpf/ndtico'and the'failure to : make aclaim iwithin the prescribed time. Tho application! would be distfiissed, and the claimant was - ordered to pay the respondents' costs, which were fixed at ' '£5 55., with' disbursements and witnesses' expenses, to be settled by tho clerk of awards.' Mr. Blair .-appeared for claimant and Mr. Iradtrcll for respondent.