Phelps v. Positive Action Tool Co.

Although appellants raise several issues on appeal,1 we decide this appeal on the narrow issue of whether Phelps was so intoxicated, as shown by the evidence, that the court can say, as a matter of law, that the injury arose out of his drunken condition and not out of his employment.2

Unlike workers’ compensation legislation in other states, the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Act does not make intoxication the basis of a *144separate defense to recovery of an award. R.C. 4123.46 provides in part that “[t]he industrial commission shall disburse the state insurance fund to employees of employers who…