SERIOUS SCALP WOUND

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 245, 17 July 1928, Page 12

SERIOUS SCALP WOUND

LABOURERS COMPENSATION CLAIM COURT DETERMINES AMOUNT The Arbitration Court yesterday was engaged in hearing the claim of Norman William John Cotten, labourer, of Lower Hutt, against the Hutt Valley Power Board for compensation for injuries to his scalp while in the employ of the board. Mr. Justice Frazer presided, and associated with him were Messrs. G. T. Booth and A. L. Monteith, employers’ and employees’ representatives respectively. Mr. P. J. O’Regan appeared for plaintiff and Mr. C. H. Treadwell for the defendant board. Plaintiff was injured by electric shock and burns on March 27, 1926. As a result of the accident, said the statement of claim, plaintiff lost the upper part of his scalp and was permanently disabled. The liability to pay compensation was admitted, but the plaintiff desired the Court to fix the amount he should receive by way of a lump sum. . .. Mr. O’Regan said he did not feel quite justified in taking the responsibility of settling for less than the.maximum amount. He felt that the matter was one for the Court. He , said that if a lump sum less than the maximum were awarded he would apply for a - suspensory award for a nominal weekly'payment .to preserve his rights should permanent total disability hereafter result. . . The defence admitted that plaintiff was seriously disabled, but-contended that the disablement was not permanent. The defendant denied that in law the amount due to the plaintiff for compensation could be compromised as desired by the plaintiff. and at the same time a suspensory award issued against the defendant. Dr. T. D. N. Stout, who had attended plaintiff since he had received his injury, said the vertex of Cotten’s skull was gone, and also the inner section of the skull in two small areas. Dr. Glesen thought plaintiff would be in a position to undertake light Inside work.. After a short- retirement, His Honour said it-was common ground that plaintiff had been seriously injured. The Court had been told that plaintiff would have to undertake very light work for the rest of his life. Had Cotten been apprenticed his earnings as an electrician when he came out of his time would have been £4 19s. per week, but as he was not apprenticed that part of the section lit the Act did not operate. They knewj that an unskilled labourer had a basic wage of Is. 3d. per hour, and that plaintiff knew something of electricity, and that by the time he was 22-he should have been able to earn 2s. per hour as an assistant linesman. There was the difficult question of ascertaining what plaintiff would now be able to earn. It appeared that for some time his work must be intermittent, and that it would take some time for plaintiff to fit himself for the new work he would undertake. His rate of employment would also be somewhat irregular, and the Court had decided upon £2 10s. per week as his probably earning. It was also common ground that plaintiff would not settle down for another twelve months. The Court had decided that the plaintiff was to receive full compensation, which was 58 per cent. of. his average weekly, earnings,' from the date of the accident, to twelve months hence. In addition to that, after the coming twelve months had expired, plaintiff would be compensated under section 9 of tho Workers' Compensation Act, whereby • compensation was computed on the basis of the difference between what the plaintiff was liable to earn if he had not been injured, and what he would be able to earn. This had been set' down at- 22s.—the difference between £2 10s. and £3 12s. Plaintiff would be awarded this for the remainder of the period of liability, namely, for 141 weeks from twelve months hence. The payments to plaintiff would be computed, as■ soon as counsel had decided what plaintiff’s earnings were. Ten guineas costs were allowed, and. medical witnesses’ expenses £2 2s.