Zebron v. American Oil Co. & Subsequent Injury Fund

Murphy, C.J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Chapter 322 of the Acts of 1965, codified in part as Maryland Code, Article 101, Section 36 (4a), provides that a person who receives an award of permanent partial disability benefits under the “Other Cases” provisions of Section 36 (4) of the Workmen’s Compensation Law “equal in total to forty per centum or more of $12,500 is thereby considered to have a serious disability” automatically entitling him to an additional award of compensation benefits under a formula therein delineated. The Act, which became effective June 1, 1965, expressly provided in Section 2 thereof that: “* * * the provisions of this act shall be applicable only to such injuries as occur and such actions as are initiated after the effective date hereof.” Appellant Zebron sustained two accidental injuries arising out of and in the course of his employment with appellee American Oil Company (American) — one on May 29, 1965, which was prior to the effective date of Section 36 (4a), and the other on March 15, 1966, after the Act had become effective. The Workmen’s Compensation Commission, which heard both cases at the same time, found with reference to the injury of May 29, 1965 that Zebron had sustained a 40% industrial loss of use of his ³¹⁰ body, of which permanent disability 30 % was due to the compensable injury of May 29, 1965 and the other 10% due to a pre-existing condition.

As to the compensable injury of March-15, 1966, the Commission found that Zebron had sustained a 70% industrial loss of use of his body, of which 30% was due to the accidental injury of March 15, 1966 and 40% due to the pre-existing condition. The Commission found that Zebron had a “serious disability” under the provisions of Section 36 (4a) and awarded additional compensation to him by reason thereof. On American’s appeal to the Superior Court of Baltimore City, the court modified the Commission’s award, holding that the percentage of disability attributable to the March 15,1966 accident was only 30%; and that to be compensable under the “serious disability” provisions of Section 36 (4a), “the injury(ies) amounting to 40% disability or more, must be subsequent to June 1,1965.” Appealing from the lower court’s judgment, Zebron maintains that the Act was intended by the Legislature to apply to his case since his injury of March 15, 1966, sustained after the