Pacific Electric Railway Co. v. Industrial Accident Commission

This is a proceeding in certiorari to review an award made by the Industrial Accident Commission, of compensation for the death of one Walter J. Leigh, who at the time of the accident which caused his death was a car conductor in the employ of Pacific Electric Railway Company. The beneficiaries of the award are the widow and minor son of said Leigh.

On March 5, 1932, Leigh was employed on that part of the employer’s railway system which runs between Clare mont and Pomona. The company maintains a terminal station on Carey Street in Pomona, with a passenger station on the west side of the street. The railroad tracks are laid in the street, level with the pavement in the usual way for street railway tracks. The car on which Leigh was conductor arrived at the Pomona station at 8:28 in the evening, and was due to leave Pomona for its next run at 8:50, thus leaving an interval of twenty-two minutes. For lay-over periods of less than one hour employees received pay, but according to the custom of the company, employees might use these intervals of time for their own purposes.

On the occasion in question Leigh telephoned to his home in Pomona and requested his son to bring down the…