Edwards v. Butte & Superior Min. Co‪.‬

Workmens Compensation ? Major Dependents ? When Entitled to Maximum Compensation ? Findings of Industrial Accident Board, When Conclusive. Workmens Compensation ? Major Dependent ? Extent of Compensation Allowable. 1. Under the Workmens Compensation Act as amended (Chap. 121, Laws 1925) a major dependent (father or mother) is entitled to compensation for injuries to a son resulting in death, only to the extent of his or her actual dependency upon the earnings of decedent, not to exceed $15 per week for 400 weeks. Same ? "Dependent" ? Definition. 2. A "dependent" within the meaning of the Workmens Compensation Act is one who is sustained by another or who relies for support upon the aid of another, consistent with the dependents necessities or position in life, the test being whether the claimant for compensation relied upon the injured employees earnings for support. Same ? Dependency is Question of Fact ? When Finding of Industrial Accident Board not Disturbed on Appeal. 3. The question of a claimants dependency upon the earnings of an injured employee is one of fact and where resolved by the Industrial Accident Board in favor of the claimant, its finding, if based on substantial evidence, will not be disturbed on appeal. Same ? Right of Dependent to Compensation Fixed as of Date of Accident. 4. Whether a claimant for compensation is dependent upon the earnings of an injured employee and the extent of the dependency are questions determinable as of the date of the accident to the latter, and the dependents rights are fixed as of that date under the conditions then shown to exist. Same ? Major Dependent ? When Entitled to Maximum Compensation. 5. Held, that the mother of a workman whose injuries received in the course of his employment resulted in his death was wholly dependent upon his earnings at the time of the accident, where it appeared that the monthly living expenses of claimant, a widow with two minor children attending school, were $100, that her only income aside from his earnings consisted of a pension of $16 per - Page 123 month and a sum of money intermittently earned by one of the children in selling papers occasionally, amounting to $7 a week, and that the state of her health made it impossible for her to secure employment; held, further, that the wages of decedent, upon whose support she relied, having been $30.87 per week, she, as a major dependent, was entitled to compensation at the maximum rate of $15 per week for 400 weeks. (See pars. 1, 2, supra.)