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232 Iowa 421

4 N.W.2d 399

Schell v. Central Engineering Co.

Supreme Court of Iowa

Decided June 16, 1942

Supreme Court of Iowa · decided 1942-06-16

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“‘‘20. In all other cases of permanent partial disability, the compensation shall bear such relation to the periods of compensation stated in the above schedule as the disability bears to those produced by the injuries named in the schedule.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Dailey v. Pooley Lumber Co.

““15. The loss of two-thirds of that part of a leg between the hip joint and the knee joint shall equal the loss of a leg, and the compensation therefor shall be weekly compensation during two hundred weeks.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Dailey v. Pooley Lumber Co.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1942-06-16

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently March 2001

5 state decisions

201942195019601970198019902000decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Mitchell, J.

¶1 (dissenting) — I find myself unable to agree witb tbe majority and respectfully dissent.

¶2 Tbe industrial commissioner and tbe district court found tbat tbe second operation was due to tbe original injury, and witb this I agree. In fact, it seems to me appellants so- concede in their brief and argument. I quote:

¶3 ‘ ‘ Contrary to tbe statement made by tbe Deputy Industrial Commissioner in bis Reopening Decision tbe appellants do not contend tbat tbe second operation ■ was not due to tbe original injury. Tbe appellants admit and tbe record só shows tbat tbe Cbopart’s stump was unsatisfactory; tbat good surgery dictated tbat tbe entire foot be amputated at a point of election calculated to give tbe claimant a serviceable foot; tbat whatever tbe ultimate loss may be it was attributable to tbe original injury. ’ ’

¶4 Tbe second operation was necessitated by tbe fact tbat a serviceable foot could not be given this claimant without it.

¶5 Tbe issue in this case does not seem to be in dispute. Appellant states it:

¶6 “Was more than tbe claimant’s right foot amputated at tbe time of tbe second amputation within tbe true meaning and intent of Section 1396 (14) ?”

¶7 It is stated in tbe same way by tbe industrial commissioner, although be uses different words in so doing. Paragraph 14 of section 1396, 1939 Code, is tbe section of tbe Workmen’s Compensation Act tbat provides for 125 weeks for tbe loss of a foot. Then follows paragraph 15 of section 1396, wbicb states:

¶8 “The loss of two-tbirds of that part of a leg between the hip joint and tbe knee joint shall equal tbe loss of a leg, and tbe *428 compensation therefor shall be weekly compensation during two hundred weeks.”

¶9 Paragraph 20 of section 1396 of the 1939 Code is as follows:

¶10 “In all other cases of permanent partial disability, the compensation shall bear such relation to the periods of compensation stated in the above schedule as the disability bears to those produced by the injuries named in the schedule.”

¶11 Thus we find that paragraph 20 provides that in all cases of partial permanent disability not listed, the compensation allowed shall bear such relation to the period of compensation stated as the disability bears to those produced by the injuries specifically named. Claimant contends that he has lost more than a foot and less than the legal leg, and is entitled to additional compensation, the amount thereof to be determined by applying paragraph 20 to ascertain the per cent of the loss of the leg.

¶12 It seems to me that this court has already determined this question. In the case of Pappas v. North Iowa Brick & Tile Co., 201 Iowa 607, 611, 206 N. W. 146, 148, this court said:

¶13 “By reference to Paragraphs 12 and 13 of the schedule, Section 2477-m9 (j), it is seen that the compensation for the Joss of a hand is for 150 weeks, and for the loss of an arm two thirds of the way up on the upper bone, it is for 225 weeks. It therefore follows that in the ease at bar the compensation must be for less than 225 weeks. The statute provides (Section 2477-m9 [j]) that, in such cases as are not specifically provided for in the schedule, such compensation shall be paid as the loss sustained bears to the enumerated losses; and therefore it became the duty of the commissioner to determine the compensation when more than the hand has been taken, but less than an arm. In other words, he is to determine how much should be added to the hand schedule, and how much deducted from the arm schedule, in arriving at the compensation to be allowed. The commissioner determined that 200 weeks, or 8'/9ths of the time named in Paragraph 13, should be the basis.”

¶14 If wé substitute foot for hand and leg for arm in the above quotation, the statement seems entirely applicable to the case at bar.

¶15*429 Claimant has suffered, due to the injury which he received, an actual loss of the foot and part of the leg. He has not suffered the whole loss of the leg for the reason that an amputation or loss o'f two thirds of that part of a leg between the hip joint’ and the knee joint is required to equal the loss of a leg. In this case the amputation was at a point about seven inches below the knee joint, or through the upper part of the middle third of the lower leg. The loss is more than the loss of a foot and less than the loss of a leg. The industrial commissioner reached the conclusion, and the district court affirmed him, that a fair allowance to the claimant would be an increase of 25 weeks over the compensation period formerly allowed, or one third of the aforesaid variance, which seems to me fair and reasonable, and I would affirm the lower court.

I am authorized to state that Justices Oliver and Garfield join in this dissent.
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