Dean v. Hodges Bros‪.‬

The opinion of the court was delivered by On October 14, 1949, Robert Lee Dean, who lacked three days of being seventeen years of age, was killed as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment with Hodges Bros., one of the respondents. Thereafter, his father and mother, Page J. Dean and Helen A. Dean, instituted proceedings for compensation under provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act, which is conceded to govern the rights of the parties. In due time the compensation commissioner heard the evidence and awarded the claimants a total sum of $5,000, to be apportioned one-half to the father and one-half to the mother, payable at the rate of $20 per week, on the theory such claimants were wholly dependent upon their son for support on the date of his death. On appeal, this award was approved by the district court and judgment rendered accordingly. The respondents then perfected this appeal in which the burden of their complaint relates to the trial court's conclusion of total dependency on the part of appellees and the amount of compensation they are entitled to recover under provisions of the act. Pertinent provisions of the statute on which the judgment depends should be set forth at the outset. They read: