Roberts v. Smith Furniture & Appliance Co.

Conley Byrd, Justice.

The facts in this case are not in dispute. The decedent Ronald J. Roberts was electrocuted when a television antenna he was erecting for his employer, appellee, Smith Furniture and Appliance Company, came in contact with a power line. The employer has accepted this case as compensable and has paid and is paying death benefits pursuant to Ark. Stat. Ann. § 81-1315 (Repl. 1976). The issue here is whether the claimants, the widow and minor child, can collect in addition to the regular allowances for death benefits, an additional 15% penalty pursuant to Ark. Stat. Ann. §…