Standard Gas Equipment Corp. v. Baldwin

Parke, J., delivered the following dissenting opinion: The dead workman was fifty-four years of age and had general arterio-sclerosis and chronic nephritis, and his diseased condition made his death imminent. The medical expert for the claimant stated that the man might have dropped dead at any time from any form of exertion, such as walking down street, and expressed the opinion that his death was the result of a dilation of the heart “due to the strenuous work done by that man on that day Tinder strenuous circumstances.” The “strenuous work” was simply the usual work of a foundry that the man had been employed for some time to do in common with his coworkers. While thus engaged in his customary labor', he dropped dead. Heat was the accompaniment of his work in the foundry, and on the day of the death this artificial heat was increased by the prevailing extremely hot weather, which was the “strenuous circumstances.” In the opinion of the majority, these facts are sufficient to make the workman’s death compensable, notwithstanding the statute defines “injury” and “personal injury” to mean “only accidental in ³³¹ juries arising out of and in the course of employment and such, disease or infection as may naturally result therefrom.” Code, art. 101, sec. 65.

The man’s disease did not result from any accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment, hut existed wholly independent of and anterior to the hiring by his employer. In fact, the only contention of the appellee is that the fatal dilation of the workman’s heart was an accidental injury within the meaning of the statute. Such a theory would suffice to create a valid claim, if the man had dropped dead at any time during his day’s work. The natural course of his diseases would have caused him to drop dead as the result of but slight exertion, such as walking, which ho was