ACTION BONA FIDE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 57, 1 December 1926, Page 14

ACTION BONA FIDE

INJURED MINER WAITS FOR OPERATION COMPENSATION CLAIM SUCCEEDS Dominion Special. Auckkuid, November 30. A claim for compensation wan heard at the sitting of the Arbitration Court this morning, the plaintiff being Edwin Hurst, coalminer, of Glen Alton and the defendants the Glen Atton Collieries L Mr. P. J. O’Regan (for plaintiff) said that nearly all points had been agreed upon. Plaintiff was employed by defendant company and on October 22 ot last year met with an injury to his arm.' He was paid compensation tor twentv-three weeks from that time at the rate of £3 15s a week. 111 the present year plaintiff saw Mr Carrick Robertson, who stated that if an operation were performed plaintiff would be able to return to work in two or three weeks’ time There was delay in getting plaintiff admitted to the Auckland Hospital, the position being that he lielonged to the Waikato district and it was contended that he should go to the Waikato Hospital. On the other hand, the doctors at Hamilton were of opinion that an operation would not be successful. Plaintiff waited for some time to get into the Auckland Hospital and then went to the Mater Misericordiae Hospital. Mr. Robertson performed an operation, and, as predicted, plaintiff was back at work in a few weeks’ time. The question was whether plaintiff was entitled to compensation for the full time that he was out of work, and a claim for £B2 os. 2d. was made. Mr. E. W. Inder (for the company) said that there was very little to add to the facts as given by Mr O’Regan. The company was prepared to be fair and reasonable, but could an injured employee choose his own time, his own hospital and bis own doctor at the expense of an employer? It might go on for years. A man might decide to wait until a doctor returned from England, and such a position would be absurd. The delay in the present instance could not bii attributed to defendant company. It was necessary that a worker should take every possible step to minimise the amount of damage. Mr. O’Regan: But the Waikato doctors scouted the idea of an operation being successful. The man did his best to aet the operation done as soon as possible and paid his fees at the Mater Misericordi'ac Hospital His Honour said flint it certainly was the plain duty of an injured worker to make every effort to reduce the amount of damage That was a perfectly sound rule. The point was whether the facts in the present 'case would square with that rule. Plaintiff had met with an injury to his arm. and there was a conflict of medical opinion as to what should he done. An eminent surgeon had advised that an operation would lie successful. On the other hand, the doctors attached to the Waikato Hospital held different opinions and did not advise the operation Plaintiff as. a reasonable man would naturally shrink from an oneration in a hospital where the "medical men were 'ffninlv of opinion that an operation would bo of no use. His intention to wait to be operated upon by Mr. Carrick Robertson was perfectly reasonable under the circumstances and it was the on’’- thing flint he could do. “Tf any one of ns was. in a similar position we would certainly take the same view,” proceeded His Honour. "It is provided that a mnn shall not. get compensation if he refuses to submit to reasonable treatment, and a man would be perfectly right if he refused to submit to treatment where there was a disnufe between medical men. If a man refused under those conditions to undergo an operation the Court would have to support him. Therefore the Waikato Hospital and their medical men have to be ruled out as far as plaintiff is concerned. Plaintiff endeavoured to get admitted to the Auckland Hospital, and when he found that he was beinr delayed too long he "took the bit in his teeth.*' went to the Mater Misericordiae Hospital nnd spent £2l of his own money. His action has been perfectly bona .fide in every way and it cannot he held that he attempted .to magnify his damage Tam quite satisfied that that is the correct view to take. The position would have been much worse for defendant company had plaintiff not had so much faith in Mr. Carrick Robertson.” Judgment was given for plaintiff for the full amount claimed, with £S Bs. costs.