Illinois Emergency Relief Commission v. Illinois Emergency Relief Commission

ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, No. 32.

Settlement of claim for $1,050.00 found to be justified.

JOHN DECOSTA, Claimant vs. ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, Respondent.

Opinion filed June 20, 1938.

STATEMENT OF FACTS.

John De Costa, 522 South Aberdeen Street, Chicago, Illinois, claims that on the 17th day of July, 1934, he sustained an accidental injury to his penis, scrotum, right arm, left side of his jaw, and to the small of his back while working as a sewing machine mechanic for the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission on Project 1-D1-348. Said project was requested by Leo M. Lyons, Relief Administrator for Cook County, for labor to operate sewing room which manufactured clothing for clients of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said project was approved by A. R. Lord, Illinois Emergency Relief Commission State Administrator of Work Relief. Said project provided for the employment of foreladies, operators, inspectors, office clerk, janitress, janitor, shipping clerk, stock man, stenographer, cutters, cutter superintendent, production manager, sewing machine mechanics, superintendent of shipping room, and superintendent of stock room. Said project was supervised by the American Red Cross, Chicago Chapter, [*828] DE COSTA C. ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION. 616 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The total cost of said project was $10,920.00. All monies were furnished by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said project was approved on the 18th day of June, 1934, and all work was completed on or about the 3rd day of July, 1935.

The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission was created by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, effective February 6, 1932. Chapter 23, Section 464, of the Illinois State Bar Statutes, 1935, sets out the duties of said commission, which are as follows: "Powers and duties. It shall be the duty of the commission until March 1, 1937, to provide relief to residents of the State of Illinois, who, by reason of unemployment or otherwise, are destitute and in necessitous circumstances.

Such relief shall be provided by distributing funds or supplies and by any other means deemed desirable by the commission. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, the commission may make use of and co-operate with counties, townships, and any other municipal corporations charged by law with the duty of poor relief and with other local relief agencies."

The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission has created many departments within itself since its creation through which relief is administered; such as maintenance department, furniture shops, mattress factories, canneries, work relief divisions and other divisions or departments too numerous to mention. Said maintenance department has charge of maintenance work in all buildings operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said work includes plumbing, carpentry, janitor work, engineering, and general repair work. Said furniture shops manufacture furniture which is used in relief offices throughout the State. Said mattress factories manufacture mattresses for relief recipients and for shelters operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said canneries preserve vegetables and fruits which have been grown by relief recipients on Illinois Emergency Relief Commission soil. Said work relief divisions furnish men to the State Highway Department, counties, townships, cities and parks for general maintenance work. All of the above enterprises or projects use sharp-edged cutting tools such as saws, chisels, mattocks and axes. Said buildings operate electric motors, elevators and boilers, all of which are governed by municipal ordinances.

Claimant was assigned to work for the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission on Project F1-3909 on or about the 15th [*829] day of February, 1934, and was transferred to Project 1-D1- 34 on or about the 18th day of June, 1934. On the last mentioned project, claimant was to work six (6) hours per day, thirty (30) hours per week, and the rate of pay was Seventy Cents (70c) per hour.

Claimant was directed by George Pullman, maintenance manager for the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission at 510 East 51st Street, Chicago, on the day heretofore mentioned to repair a sewing machine which had become out of repair. Said sewing machine was one of a series which were mounted on a table. Said table was approximately forty-eight (48) feet long and four (4) feet wide and two and one-half (2½) feet from the floor. Under the table about one (1) foot from the floor was a main metal shaft which revolved about six hundred (600) revolutions a minute. On said shaft were approximately twenty (20) rollers and pulleys and over each pulley was a five-sixteenths (5/16) of an inch leather belt which was connected with the sewing machine on the table.

In order to make the necessary repairs, claimant removed the belt from the roller. Said belt became tangled in the main shaft and the sleeve of claimant's overalls became entangled in the main shaft and the belt. As a result of this, claimant was wound into the shaft of the machine. Said machine tore his penis and scrotum, tearing the entire skin off, tearing open his scrotum, so that the testicles were completely out of the scrotum. He was pulled into the moving shaft, all of his clothing was torn off of him and wound into the machinery. After the accident, claimant was immediately taken to Mercy Hospital, Chicago, where he remained until the 14th day of September, 1934.

George Pullman testified on the 18th day of July, 1935, that at the time of the accident he was employed by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission as maintenance manager at 510 East 51st Street; that his duties were to take care of the maintenance of the building and machinery and all the equipment located in said building; further, that John De Costa was working under his supervision and control; that all complaints relative to the operation of sewing machines were made to him and it was then his duty to see that one of the sewing machine mechanics made the necessary repairs; that on said day he directed John De Costa to make certain [*830] repairs on one of the machines; that while in the course of his work he sustained an accidental injury. As soon as this accident occurred, he made arrangements for John De Costa to be taken to the Mercy Hospital and for Dr. Charles H. Connor to attend him.

Dr. Charles H. Connor testified on the 28th day of August, 1935, that he had graduated from the Loyola University School of Medicine in 1917, that he was affiliated with Mercy Hospital, a member of the senior surgical staff, and that on the 17th day of July, 1934, he saw John De Costa for the first time. At this time claimant was suffering from shock due to trauma; on further examination he found that the skin had been torn off his penis and the penis was bleeding quite severely. The skin on the pubis to the extent of one-half inch was torn above the penis on the pubis and about one inch below on the scrotum. There was severe trauma also to the scrotum, to the testis and the vas deferens. That on the 21st day of August, a skin graft was performed. That on the 6th day of September his skin graft was completed. It was impossible to complete a complete skin graft in one operation.

Dr. Connor further testified that dressings were done daily and on many occasions twice a day. This continued until the 21st day of August, when the first skin graft was performed.

The patient was discharged from the hospital on the 14th day of September but continued under Dr. Connor's care until the 14th day of October, 1934. At the time John De Costa was discharged from the hospital, the penis itself was much smaller than it had been on entrance due to the fact that the skin graft had drawn the penis down.

Dr. Michael L. Roiff testified on the 28th day of August, 1935, that he was a graduate of the University of Illinois Medical School, receiving a Doctor of Medicine in 1919; that he was affiliated with the American Hospital of Chicago; that he examined John De Costa on the 19th day of July, 1935, at his office. The subjective findings at the time of the examination were that he could not perform sexual acts and that he could not have an erection and found also that the penis was decidedly smaller than that of the average man of his age and stature and that it felt hard and contracted, that the surfaces were scarred, particularly that the pubic hair extended over the proximal hair near the organ. There was a scar that extended on the entire surface which was the result [*831] of surgical procedure. The organ was sensitive to touch and on examining the scrotum he found that the spermatic cord which contains the vas deferens, the artery, nerve and vas, which supplies the testicles both on the right and left side, and the epididymis were still increased over the normal size.

Dr. Reiffel further testified that John De Costa could not have an erection; first, due to the scarification of the organ proper, the contraction of the connective tissue, it causes a shrinking of the anatomical parts; second, the skin grafts which are put on under tension will inhibit that organ from increasing in size in order to get an erection; the third is one of nervous inhibition due to the injury to the posterior portion of the urethra which contains the nerve endings which regulate the erection.

Both Dr. Charles H. Connor and Dr. Michael I. Reiffel are of the opinion that John De Costa's condition is permanent.

Claimant was asked to submit to another examination on the 25th day of February, 1936. Said examination was made by Dr. Leander William Riba, an outstanding urology surgeon of Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Riba is on the surgical staff of Passavant Hospital and head of the out-patient clinic at Northwestern University where he teaches. Dr. Riba testified on the 21st day of April, 1936, that John De Costa complained of his inability to have sexual intercourse since the accident.

The examination was confined to the internal and external genital organs. The examination of the external genitals revealed some scarring of the anterior surface of the scrotum.

There was some scarring of the shaft of the penis. There was some shortening of the shaft of the penis due to scar tissue on the ventral side. The examination of the scrotal contents revealed two testicles both of which, however, were small, the right smaller than the left. These testicles were firm, normal to palpation, except for their small size. In the right scrotal sac the epididymis was thickened and tender to palpation.

Examination of the prostate by way of rectal examination revealed prostate which was slightly larger than normal and was infiltrated and was tender. The secretion of the prostate contained 50 to 75 pus cells per high power field. It was found that the urethra had many ridges occurring due to scar tissue.

Said obstructions were of various sizes. From the evidence which was found on urological examination, the following diagnoses were made: First, multiple fibrous strictures of the [*832] anterior urethra. Second, prostatic-vesiculitis (grade 2).

Third, scarring of the scrotum. Fourth, thickening of the back's penis. Fifth, shortening of the penile scrotal angle.

Sixth, small testicles. Seventh, right epididymitis. Dr. Riba was of the opinion from his examination that John De Costa would still have considerable function from the testicles. He has a partial loss of the use of the testicles. His partial loss is due to: First, multiple stricture of the urethra. Second, infection of the prostate gland. Third, scarring of the shaft of the penis and scrotum.

Dr. Riba is of the opinion that John De Costa does not have enough scarring to keep him from performing sexual intercourse provided he could get an erection. Dr. Riba further stated that he had organic lesions which may make him impotent at the present time. In this case there is combination of high grade strictures and prostatic infection which have great bearing on the patient's impotency. Dr. Riba is of the opinion that John De Costa's condition can be completely relieved by proper medical care and surgery.

Dr. Charles H. Connor has submitted a medical bill for One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) for professional services rendered. Said bill has been examined and found to be reasonable for the services rendered. See Exhibit 1. All other hospital and doctors' bills and medical bills have been paid by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission.

Claimant's accident was in the course of, and arose out of, his employment. Further, the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission had notice of the accident and demand for compensation was made on the employer within six months after the accident.

Section 3, sub-paragraph 3, Workmen's Compensation

Act

"In any enterprise in which statutory or municipal ordinance regulations are now or shall hereafter be imposed for the regulating, guarding, use or the placing of machinery or appliances or for the protection and safeguarding of the employees or the public therein; each of which occupations, enterprises or businesses are hereby declared to be extra hazardous: * * *" Section 8, Paragraph (a), Workmen's Compensation Act "The employer shall provide the necessary first aid, medical and surgical services, and all necessary medical, surgical and hospital services thereafter, limited, however, to that which is reasonably required to cure or relieve from the effects of the injury * * *" [*833] Section 8, Paragraph (r), sub-paragraph 16¾ Workmen's Compensation Act For the loss of a testicle, fifty per centum of the average weekly wage during fifty weeks, and for the loss of both testicles, fifty per centum of the average weekly wage during one hundred fifty weeks.

Section 8, Paragraph (d), Workmen's Compensation Act If, after the injury has been sustained, the employee as a result thereof becomes partially incapacitated from pursuing his usual and customary line of employment, he shall, except in the cases covered by the specific schedule set forth in paragraph (e) of this section, receive compensation, subject to the limitations as to time and maximum amounts fixed in paragraphs (b) and (h) of this section, equal to fifty per centum of the difference between the average amount which he earned before the accident and the average amount which he is earning or is able to earn in some suitable employment or business after the accident.

At the time of the accident, claimant was living with his wife and five children: Elvira, 18; Mary, 17; Margaret, 15; Lillian, 13, and Catherine, 10.

Dr. Charles Connor and Dr. Michael Reiffel are of the opinion that claimant has suffered a permanent and complete loss of the use of the testicles. Dr. Leander W. Riba is of the opinion that claimant has loss of function of the testicles but that same can be restored by surgical and medical treatment.

Claimant filed a petition in the Court of Claims which is known as John De Costa vs. State of Illinois, No. 2652. Said claim is now pending before the court. A release and waiver has been secured by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission and a stipulation to dismiss the above-entitled cause has been filed with the Court of Claims. Claimant and his attorney have agreed to accept Nine Hundred Dollars ($900.00) in full settlement of his injuries and the payment of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) to Dr. Charles H. Connor for his medical bill.

Copy.

Monthly Statement

Chicago, Ill., Jan. 25, 1938.

Mr. John DeCosta

Dr. Charles H. Connor

7054 South Park Avenue

Telephone Stewart 3273

To Professional Services Rendered

Employee Illinois Emergency Relief Factory, 510 East 51st St. While at work clothing caught in a machine and tore the [*834] entire skin from penis. He had to be dressed twice daily for some time then once a day for some months. Two operations performed for skin graft. 1st operation on Aug. 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 25.00 2nd operation, Sept. 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.00 100 dressings and calls at $1.00 each . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 150.00 Page 2. (Itemized statement continued) Dates of Dressings and Calls July 17 July 26 Aug. 8 Aug. 26 Sept. 19 July 17 July 26 Aug. 7 Aug. 27 Sept. 20 July 18 July 27 Aug. 8 Aug. 28 Sept. 21 July 18 July 27 Aug. 9 Aug. 29 Sept. 22 July 19 July 28 Aug. 10 Aug. 30 Sept. 23 July 19 July 28 Aug. 11 Sept. 1 Sept. 24 July 20 July 29 Aug. 12 Sept. 2 Sept. 25 July 20 July 29 Aug. 13 Sept. 3 Sept. 26 July 21 July 30 Aug. 14 Sept. 4 Sept. 27 July 21 July 30 Aug. 15 Sept. 5 Sept. 28 July 22 July 31 Aug. 16 Sept. 6 Sept. 29 July 22 July 31 Aug. 17 Sept. 7 Sept. 30 July 23 Aug. 1 Aug. 18 Sept. 8 Oct. 1 July 23 Aug. 1 Aug. 19 Sept. 9 Oct. 2 July 24 Aug. 2 Aug. 20 Sept. 10 Oct. 4 July 24 Aug. 2 Aug. 21 Sept. 11 Oct. 6 July 25 Aug. 3 Aug. 22 Sept. 12 Oct. 8 July 26 Aug. 4 Aug. 23 Sept. 13 Oct. 10 Aug. 5 Aug. 24 Sept. 14 Oct. 12

Aug. 25 Sept. 15 Oct. 14

Sept. 16

Sept. 17

Sept. 18

Exhibit I. Advisory Opinion by Mr. Justice Yantis.

To the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission: Pursuant to your request for an Advisory Opinion, based upon the attached statement of facts submitted by you in the matter of the claim of John De Costa vs. Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, the following Opinion is rendered, based upon the aforementioned statement: John DeCosta, 522 S. Aberdeen Street, Chicago, Illinois, was assigned to work for the Illinois Emergency Relief Com[*835]mission on or about the 15th day of February, 1934, and on or about the 18th day of June, 1934 was assigned to Project 1-D1-348. His employment called for thirty (30) hours per week at Seventy (70) Cents per hour. Claimant was directed on July 17, 1934 to repair a sewing machine, same being one of a series which were mounted on a table forty-eight feet long. Under the table was a metal shaft which revolved about six hundred revolutions per minute, and on the shaft were twenty rollers and pulleys, over which leather belts operated to connect with the sewing machines on the table above. In making the repairs claimant removed the belt from the roller. It became tangled in the main shaft and claimant's sleeve was caught and he was wound into the shaft; all of his clothing was torn from him; the entire skin was torn from his penis; the scrotum was torn open and his testicles were completely out of the scrotum. He was immediately taken to Mercy Hospital where he remained until the 14th day of September, 1934. He there had the services of several physicians and surgeons. Dr. Charles H. Connor states that on the 17th day of July, 1934 he saw John De Costa at Mercy Hospital; that claimant was suffering from shock due to trauma; that he found upon examination that the skin had been torn from claimant's penis and that same was bleeding severely; the skin on the pubis to the extent of one-half inch was torn; there was also severe trauma to the scrotum, testis and vas deferens. Two operations were performed for skin graft and frequent daily dressings were made on the patient until the 14th day of September, when he was discharged from the hospital, but he continued under Dr. Connor's care for a month thereafter. Dr. Michael I. Reiffel states, according to the record, that he examined claimant on the 19th day of July, 1935; that the scar resulting from the skin graft extended on the entire surface of the penis; that no erection could be had; that on examination of the scrotum he found the spermatic cord which contains the vas deferens, the artery, nerves and vas were all affected.

Dr. L. W. Riba, of the surgical staff of Passavant Hospital, testified that he examined claimant on the 21st day of April, 1936; that the shaft of the penis is shortened due to scar tissue on the ventral side; that the scrotal contents revealed that both testicles were of decreased size and the epi[*836]didymis in the right scrotal sac was thickened and tender to palpation; further, that the prostrate contained a high secretion of pus cells and that the urethra had many ridges, due to scar tissue. Dr. Ribu's conclusion was that claimant has a loss of use of the testicles due to, first, multiple stricture of the urethra-second, infection of the prostate gland-third, scarring of the shaft of the penis and scrotum, and that claimant is impotent at the present time. Dr. Connor and Dr.

Reifel are of the opinion that his condition is permanent. At the time of the accident claimant was living with his wife and five children, three of whom were under the age of sixteen years. He filed a petition in the Court of Claims under the title of John De Costa vs. State, No. 2652, said claim being made under the provisions of Section 8, Paragraph (c), Subparagraph 16¾, Workmen's Compensation Act of Illinois which provides: "For the loss of a testicle, fifty per centum of the average weekly wage during fifty weeks, and for the loss of both testicles, fifty per centum of the average weekly wage during one hundred fifty weeks."

The statement submitted here indicates that claimant and his attorney have now agreed with the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission to accept Nine Hundred ($900.00) Dollars in full settlement of his injuries, plus the payment of One Hundred Fifty ($150.00) Dollars to Dr. Charles H. Connor for the latter's bill for services rendered.

The court finds that from the facts submitted claimant would be entitled to compensation in an amount not less than the sum indicated in the offer for settlement, and we are of the opinion that settlement with claimant under the facts stated is fully warranted under the provisions of said Section 8, Paragraph (c), Sub-Paragraph 16¾ of the Act.

In making payment the following conditions should be observed: First, payment of compensation shall be made by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission out of any funds held by it and allocated for the payment of such claim. Second, that the claim of John De Costa vs. State of Illinois, Court of Claims, No. 2652, now pending, shall be dismissed. [*837]

ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION. No. 33.

Payment of $153.75, advised.