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Donahue v. Maryland Casualty Co.

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

116 N.E. 226 (1917)

Facts

Patrick Donahue (plaintiff) was employed by Thomas J. Flynn & Co. (Flynn) (defendant) to sell church products. Donahue was primarily a traveling salesman and traveled throughout New England by train and electric streetcar and on foot. On February 21, 1916, Donahue left Flynn’s store in Boston and traveled by train and electric streetcar to Collinsville, Massachusetts. In Collinsville, Donahue walked to a clergyman’s house approximately 10 minutes away from the streetcar line. After meeting with the clergyman, Donahue started to walk back to the streetcar line, intending to take a car to another town in Massachusetts to make another sale. However, a short distance from the clergyman’s house, Donahue fell on the icy pavement and broke his ankle. Donahue sought workers’-compensation benefits from Flynn and Flynn’s insurer, Maryland Casualty Company (Maryland Casualty) (defendant). The Industrial Accident Board awarded Donahue benefits after finding that Donahue had sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment. The superior court affirmed, and Maryland Casualty appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Crosby, J.)

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