Barbara Pinkus v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Company

487 S.W.3d 616, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 11515, 2015 WL 6751059
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 5, 2015·No. 05-14-00892-CV·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice Fillmore

Barbara Pinkus appeals the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of Hartford Casualty Insurance Company. In two issues, Barbara argues the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of Hartford, a workers’ compensation insurance carrier, was erroneous because her, husband, Ron Pinkus, was in the course and scope of his employment at the time he was injured in a motor vehicle accident, and if Barbara is the prevailing party on appeal, she is entitled to an award of attorney’s fees.2 We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

[618] Procedural Background

Barbara filed a beneficiary claim for workers’ compensation benefits with the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC), which Hartford, the-workers’ compensation insurance carrier of Ron’s employer, denied. After a DWC contested case hearing, a hearing officer determined Ron was in the course and scope of his employment when he sustained injury in a January 9, 2012 motor vehicle accident, and Ron had disability for the period beginning January 10, 2012, and continuing through the date of Ron’s death on August 1, 2012. Hartford appealed'^ but the DWC appeals panel affirmed the hearing officer’s decision. The DWC’s decision and order includes the following as “Background Information”: ’’

Ron .., was a 64-year-old Product Development Team Leader for Employer, who was sent to Dallas from the home office in Raleigh, North Carolina for a three day business trip to meet with customers and plan for opening a Dallas office. All transportation, meals and lodging expenses for the trip were paid by Employer. [Ron] stayed at the Wes-tjn Galleria Hotel in Dallas. After working 'at the office in the Galleria Tower adjacent to the hotel on January 9, 2012, [Ron] had arranged to meet his son, Brett Pinkus, who lived'in Dallas, for dinner at a restaurant. At about 6:46 pm; [Ron] was seriously injured in an automobile accident which occurred about one-half mile short of the'restaurant, and' 11.6 miles from the hotel.
The facts of this case bring it within the “continuous coverage” doctrine which provides coverage 24 hours per' day for employees sent out of town overnight on business by Employer. Travel, for meals during a business trip is a covered part of the trip. An exception to such coverage has been recognized in cases where an employee deviates from the business purpose of a trip for purely personal reasons. Examples of exceptions include APD 101035 in which the "employee was injured while driving to another city 40 miles distant-for dinner, and APD 101035 in which the employee traveled to another city during his business trip to have dinner, drink alcohol, play pool, and watch sports on television with a friend. There is no cited case where a trip of 12 miles to a restaurant within a major metropolitan area such as llallas has been held.to.be a deviation from the business purpose of the trip. The fact that the son was to meet [Ron] for dinner does not remove the activity from the scope of covered activities allowable during a business trip such as sleeping and eating.
[Ron] was rendered quadriplegic by his injuries sustained in' the motor vehicle accident, and died due to his injuries on August 1, 2012. [Hartford] does not dispute that this would be a period of disability if the injury is found to be compensable.

The DWC’s decision and order includes the following findings of fact:

3. [Ron]’s injury of January 9, 2012 was sustained during a business trip to Dallas, Texas of several days duration from his home base in North Carolina for which transportation, meals and lodging were furnished by [his employer].
• 4.. [Ron] sustained serious bodily injury on January 9, 2012 in a motor vehicle accident while driving from his office in the Dallas Westin Galleria hotel at about 6:45 pm to have dinner at a restaurant in Dallas.
5. Due to his inj,ury sustained on January 9, 2012, [Ron] was unable to obtain or retain employment at [619] wages equivalent to his preinjury wage for the period beginning January 10, 2012 and continuing through August 1, 2012. ' “ ’

It was the appeals panel’s decision that Ron sustained a compensable injury on January 9, 2012, and suffered disability for the period beginning January 10, 2012, and continuing through August 1, 2012.

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Barbara Pinkus v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Company, 487 S.W.3d 616, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 11515, 2015 WL 6751059 (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

487 S.W.3d 616 (Barbara Pinkus v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Company) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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