American General Insurance Co. v. Vick

310 S.W.2d 725, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1823
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 19, 1958
DocketNo. 10544
StatusPublished

This text of 310 S.W.2d 725 (American General Insurance Co. v. Vick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American General Insurance Co. v. Vick, 310 S.W.2d 725, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1823 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

GRAY, Justice.

This is a workman’s compensation cause.

Appellee suffered injury on February 3, 1955, at which time he had worked nine days and was paid $116 for the period of one week. On cross examination he testified that in 1955 he earned a total of $1,-594.15 and in 1954 he earned a total of $1,459.45. There is no evidence that any employee was engaged in employment similar to that in which appellee was engaged at the time of his injury and no evidence of wages paid for similar employment.

At the trial the parties stipulated that the average weekly wage of appellee could not be determined under subsection 1 or subsection 2 of Art. 8309, Vernon’s Ann.Civ. St., and that such wages might be established under subsection 3 of that Article. We quote subsection 3:

“When by reason of the shortness of the time of the employment of the employee, or other employees engaged in the same class of work in the manner and for the length of time specified in the above Subsections 1 and 2, or other good and sufficient reasons it is impracticable to compute the average weekly wages as above defined, it shall be computed by the Board in any manner which may seem just and fair to both parties.”

Upon a jury verdict a judgment was rendered awarding appellee a recovery for temporary total incapacity for 12 weeks and for partial permanent incapacity for 300 weeks. The jury found that appellee’s- average weekly wage “on February 3, 1955” was $116.

Submitted issue 15 and the jury’s answer thereto is:

“What amount of money, if any, do you find from a preponderance of the evidence to be just and fair to both parties to this suit to be fixed as the average weekly wage of the plaintiff on [727]*727February 3, 1955? Answer by stating the amount, if any, in dollars and cents.
“Answer: $116.00.”
Appellant timely objected to the submission of issue 15 because it inquired only as to the average weekly wage of appellee on February 3, 1955, and because an answer to the issue would not be a finding of his average weekly wages in accordance with the requirements of the Workman’s Compensation Laws.

It is not disputed that issue 15 was appellee’s issue and that, upon objection being made to the issue, the burden was on him to have a proper issue submitted and to secure a proper answer to the issue in order to sustain a recovery. Rule 279, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Appellant was only required to make a proper objection to the submission of the issue. Texas Employers’ Ins. Ass’n v. Thames, Tex.Civ.App., 236 S.W.2d 203. Er. ref.

In passing on appellant’s objection to issue 15 we are not directly concerned with what evidence was before the jury from which they could compute the average weekly wages of appellee in a manner that may seem just and fair to appellee and appellant, but rather with the question: Did the issue as submitted limit the jury’s consideration of wages to a particular date?

In Texas Employers’ Ins. Ass’n v. Van Pelt, Tex.Civ.App., 68 S.W.2d 514, 515, no writ history, the evidence showed that at the time Van Pelt was injured he had worked for his then employer 24 days at $6.05 per day. The jury was asked, instructed and found as follows:

“ ‘What do you find from the preponderance of the evidence were the average weekly wages being earned by the plaintiff at the time of the injury, if any, of May 8, 1931 ?
“ ‘In connection with this issue you are instructed that you will arrive at the average weekly wages of the plaintiff in such manner as may seem to you just and fair to both the plaintiff and the defendant.’
“Answer: ‘$36.30.’”
The court said:
“It is manifest that the finding of the jury that an average weekly wage of $36.30 was fair and just between the parties is based on the wages appellee had been receiving from his last employer for whom he had worked 24 days at the time of his injury. It is obvious that this is the only amount for the average weekly wage the jury could have found under the instruction of the court. The language ‘in any manner which seems just and fair’ fixes a general but not an arbitrary rule for computing ‘average weekly wages.’ Such wage should be ascertained from all the facts and circumstances pertinent to such issue in order to impartially determine the compensation in a manner legally fair and just. The court committed error in limiting the jurors in their consideration of an average weekly wage fair and just to the parties, to any particular fact or circumstance.”

In Texas Employers’ Ins. Ass’n v. Hamilton, Tex.Civ.App., 95 S.W.2d 767, 770, er. dis., the court considered the sufficiency of the evidence to support a finding of average weekly wages under subdivision 3, supra. The Van Pelt case, supra, was cited and its holding interpreted as having reversed the judgment of the trial court.

“ * * * because, in the manner the issue of average weekly wages was submitted to the jury under subdivision 3, the jury was restricted in its consideration to the wages the injured employee had received at and just prior to the injury, instead of permitting the jury to consider all pertinent testimony that might enable them to find what was just and fair to the parties, :⅞: ⅜ ⅜ »

In American Employers’ Ins. Co. v. Singleton, Tex.Com.App., 24 S.W.2d 26, [728]*72828, the evidence showed that the deceased had worked 18 or 20 days at the employment at which he was working when injured and that his salary was $35 per week, but there was no evidence that prior thereto he had earned a daily or weekly wage, and none to show what others in the same or a neighboring place were earning at the same or similar employment. An issue was submitted to the jury under subdivision 3 and the jury answered that $35 was the average weekly wages of Singleton. Commenting on the evidence the court said:

“Nothing further is shown that would throw any light whatever as to any employment or earnings of deceased prior to the injury, except that prior to the instant employment he worked on the farm for his mother, and was a strong robust man at that time. There is no showing whatever what the value of his services to his mother were, or what she would have to pay to get others to do the work he did,

The court held there was “no” evidence to sustain the answer of the jury as to the weekly wage of Singleton and reversed and remanded the cause.

The Singleton case was decided on the question of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the finding of average weekly wages and not on the question of the submission of any issue. However it supports the holding of the Van Pelt case that the issue which limits the jury’s consideration of an average weekly wage, fair and just to both parties, to a particular fact, circumstance or date is error and, upon a proper objection, requires a reversal of the judgment.

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Related

Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Rodriquez
263 S.W.2d 174 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1953)
Texas Employer's Ins. Ass'n v. Thames
236 S.W.2d 203 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1951)
Texas Employers Insurance v. Clack
132 S.W.2d 399 (Texas Supreme Court, 1939)
Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Hamilton
95 S.W.2d 767 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1936)
The Southern Underw't'rs v. Wheeler
123 S.W.2d 340 (Texas Supreme Court, 1939)
Southern Underwriters v. Wheeler
108 S.W.2d 846 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1937)
Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Van Pelt
68 S.W.2d 514 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1934)
American Employers' Ins. Co. v. Singleton
24 S.W.2d 26 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1930)

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Bluebook (online)
310 S.W.2d 725, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1823, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-general-insurance-co-v-vick-texapp-1958.