Turner Gas Co. v. Workmen's Compensation Appeals Board

This litigation centers on an award made to an injured workman; however, his rights are not in question; neither side asserts that the injured workman was not entitled to the award or that the award was excessive. The litigation is between two insurance carriers and presents, primarily, a fundamental procedural question.

The pertinent facts are undisputed.

Ernest Kinney was employed by the Turner Gas Company from October 1, 1956, to July 7, 1972, as a delivery truck driver to supply the company’s customers with propane gas; his duties, among others, included the installation of tanks and the lifting and pulling of hoses weighing up to 100 pounds. Because of the lifting and pulling, Kinney had recurrent back problems during the period of his employment.

On July 7, 1972, Kinney, whose back had been bothering him severely for about 10 days, was pulling a heavy hose when suddenly the pain in his back stopped and a “screaming,” excruciating pain developed in his left leg. Sometime later he underwent a laminectomy performed at the L5 vertebral level, and “a classic total nuclear extrusion was identified on the left and treated by total excision of the nucleal material and…