Gary Eugene Cummings v. J. R. Simplot

Appellant Gary Eugene Cummings has worked for the J. R. Simplot Company for seventeen years, twelve of them at the Pocatello plant. While working on January 8, 1964, appellant slipped and dropped three feet while attempting to beat down accumulated ore in the acidulation plant. Appellant then fell backward against a fume fan door, his lower back hitting a protruding angle iron. Appellant reported the accident to the foreman, went home, and the next day consulted a Dr. Emerson who took x-rays and found no apparent abnormality. Dr. Emerson treated appellant by prescribing muscle relaxant pills and a heating pad. The company paid the bills and noted the incident in its records. Appellant testified that an employee in the insurance and safety department of the company told him that no claim for compensation could be made until he was off work for two weeks. No doctor was consulted by appellant concerning his back between 1964 and 1969. In May of 1969, appellant consulted the company doctor (the company did not have a plant physician before 1969) regarding a pain in the groin. An x-ray was taken and a muscle relaxant prescribed. It is not clear whether this problem was directly or indirectly related to the 1964 accident.