Department of Correction v. Johnson

The claimant-appellee, Johnson, sustained an accidental injury while working in the woodshop of a penal institution, as a result of which both of his thumbs were cut off at the terminal phalanx. Johnson, whose formal education did not extend beyond the sixth grade, was a cabinetmaker before entering the institution. The Workmen’s Compensation Commission (the Commission) found that Johnson had sustained a permanent partial disability to his thumbs resulting in a 25% industrial loss of use of the body and made an award to him of compensation at the rate of $14.02 a week, the agreed amount of…