Fortner v. Industrial Commission

James W. Fortner was a building contractor in the city of Decatur, employing at different times from four to twenty men. His son, Gerald R. Fortner, was employed by him as a bricklayer. He had been so employed for many years, first as an apprentice and later as a regular employee. On May 8, 1921, he was twenty years old. On that date he fell from a smoke-stack eighty-five feet in height and was killed. His mother, Leona V. Fortner, applied to the Industrial Commission for an adjustment of her claim against her husband, James W. Fortner, for compensation for the death of their son. The…