## Facts

- Cyrus Maxey, a non-licensed plumber for Major Mechanical Contractors, suffered a compensable work injury on September 3, 1969, resulting in total disability for a period and a permanent left-arm injury.
- The injury prevented Maxey from continuing work as a plumber, where he earned $180 per week ($4.50/hour).
- Maxey later worked at a gas station (beginning July 1970) earning $500 per month for a 50-hour week (about $2.50/hour).
- The Industrial Accident Board awarded Maxey $50 per week for permanent partial disability under 19 Del. C. § 2325.
- In April 1973, Maxey became a gas station supervisor earning $700 per month for a 50-hour week (about $3.22/hour) and was subject to 24-hour call.
- On October 10, 1973, Maxey became a manager at another station earning $625 per month for a 50-hour week (about $3.10/hour) and was not subject to 24-hour call.
- The employer petitioned (July 5, 1973) to reduce Maxey’s weekly benefits based on his increased post-injury wages.
- Maxey argued that wage increases were partly attributable to inflation; a Department of Labor research analyst testified that Delaware’s average weekly wage rose from $143 (1969) to about $170 (1973), an increase of about 19%.
- The Board refused to account for wage-scale changes since 1969, compared hourly rates using a 40-hour week, calculated weekly wage losses, and reduced Maxey’s benefits to $34.13 per week for one period and $43.80 per week thereafter.
- Maxey appealed the benefit reduction to the Delaware Superior Court.

## Issues

1. In modifying permanent partial-disability compensation under 19 Del. C. § 2325 based on post-injury earnings, may the Board rely solely on nominal wage comparisons without considering inflation or general wage-level increases?
2. Whether the Board’s refusal to consider evidence of general wage escalation improperly understated Maxey’s real loss of earning capacity and led to an erroneous reduction in benefits.

## Decision

- The Superior Court reversed the Board’s decision reducing Maxey’s weekly compensation.
- The court held the Board erred by refusing to consider inflationary wage trends and general wage-level increases when comparing pre-injury and post-injury wages.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the requirement that wage comparisons reflect real (inflation-adjusted) earning capacity.

## Legal Principles

- Permanent partial-disability compensation under 19 Del. C. § 2325 is directed to actual loss of earning capacity, not a mechanical comparison of nominal dollar wages.
- A tribunal may not reduce partial-disability benefits based solely on higher post-injury nominal earnings when the increase is attributable, at least in part, to inflation or general wage escalation rather than improved earning capacity.
- Evidence of general wage-level change is relevant to determining whether post-injury earnings reflect a true reduction in disability and wage-loss consequences.

## Conclusion

The court required the workers’ compensation tribunal, when considering a reduction in partial-disability benefits based on post-injury earnings, to account for inflation and general wage-level increases so that the comparison measures real earning capacity rather than nominal wage changes.


Maxey v. Major Mech. Contractors, 330 A.2d 156 (Del. Super. Ct. 1974)