Opinion
November 16, 1961
Present — Bergan, P.J., Coon, Herlihy, Reynolds and Taylor, JJ.
Appeal from a decision of the Workmen's Compensation Board that claimant did not have a "serious facial or head disfigurement" within the meaning of section 15 (subd. 3, par. t, cl. 1) of the Workmen's Compensation Law. Claimant, on the morning of July 11, 1958 upon opening the door of a freight car, was struck on the head by a loose piece of equipment. The blow inflicted a gash on claimant's forehead which required three sutures to close and resulted in a one and one-half inch scar on his left anterior scalp at the hair line. While the attending physician's report of July 29, 1959 indicates the possibility of permanent disfigurement, the board viewed the claimant's injury on November 10, 1959, four months later, and found no compensable disfigurement. Appellant urges that the board's determination is not supported by substantial evidence. With this we cannot agree. The board viewed the injury involved prior to rendering its decision. The board is not compelled to accept the report or opinion of the attending physician especially where such a report only indicated that a permanent disfigurement "might" result, but may follow what its own perception indicates to be the effect of the injury. This is not an area where the board's observation must be subservient to the testimony of medical experts. All facial injuries which result in scars are not ipso facto compensable. The statute limits recovery to "serious facial or head disfigurement[s]" (Workmen's Compensation Law, § 15, subd. 3, par. t, cl. 1) and makes the granting of awards under the section a matter of the board's judgment and discretion. Decision unanimously affirmed, without costs.