Pillsbury

In this action to set aside a compensation order made pursuant to the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 44 Stat. 1424 , 33 U.S.C.A. 901 et seq., the plaintiffs 1 question the validity of an award made to a hospital association for medical care given an association member for an illness he contracted while employed by the plaintiff Contractors.

From March 1941 to May 1943, Joseph F. Burchard, performed work for plaintiff Contractors at Pearl Harbor which constantly exposed him to rock dust. After leaving the employ of plaintiff Contractors in May of 1943, Burchard was hired by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. In connection with this employment, Burchard became a dues-paying member of the Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital Association. In May of 1949, he was hospitalized by the Association for tubérculosilicosis. It was subsequently determined that his disease had been contracted as a result of his employment with plaintiff Contractors. The latter were notified of Burchard’s condition on September 22, 1949. On January 5, 1950 Burchard filed a claim for compensation under the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, as made applicable to persons…