REFEREE TO DECIDE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 71, 25 March 1931, Page 11

REFEREE TO DECIDE

EFFECT OF INJURIES

COMPENSATION CLAIM

A claim for compensation was made in the Arbitration Court to-day against the,. Wellington City Council by Smith, of Petone.

Mr. W. E. Leicester appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. J. O'Shca (City Solicitor) for the Corporation.

The injuries were admitted, said Mr. O'Shea, and all the Court was asked to do was to fix the amount of compensation in final settlement.

Mr. Leicester said that at the time of the accident on Oth July, 1930, the plaintiff was in charge of operations at the Wainui Dam involving the sinking of a shaft. There was a mishap, and tho plaintiff dropped thirty feet, receiving injuries to his left thumb, face, and head, and spinal concussion. He had been paid compensation by the Corporation . since that date. Two doctors had examined him after the accident and again recently, and they were of the opinion that so far as the thumb was concerned there would be a permanent disability equal to 5 per cent, of the total. There might be some dispute in regard to organic disability. The question for the Court to. consider if it decided that there would be a permanent organic disability was tliat it might be difficult for the plaintiff to resume the manual work to which ho had been accustomed all his life.

The plaintiff gave evidenoe that during the five years he had been in New Zealand prior to the accident his earnings averaged £.6 a week. As a mining contractor overseas, he had earned £10 a week for a considerable period.

Medical evidenco was called by both sides.

In. delivering the judgment of the Court, Mr. Justice Frazer said that the real mattgr in dispute was whether there was an organic spinal lesion. It was agreed that the plaintiff would take about six months_ to recover from his neurasthenic condition, so that he would be entitled to six months' compensation in that respect. It was also agreed that the injury to the thumb was assessable at 5 per cent., of permanent total disability for the remaining period of liability under the Act. If there was an organic spinal lesion 20 per cent, must be added to that assessable for the thumb. His Honour referred to the divergence of opinion between the specialists on both, sides, and said that the Court proposed to refer that aspect of the matter to a medical referee, on whose report judgment could be based.