Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company v. Perez

446 S.W.2d 580, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2905
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 16, 1969
Docket15466
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 446 S.W.2d 580 (Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company v. Perez) 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
Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company v. Perez, 446 S.W.2d 580, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2905 (Tex. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

PEDEN, Justice.

Occupational disease case under the Workmen’s Compensation Insurance Act. The carrier has appealed from the judgment based on a jury finding that the claimant was totally and permanently dis *582 abled by having been poisoned by certain substances he had inhaled.

Perez was employed by Todd Shipyards Corporation, where he had worked for several years as a welder.

In answering the special issues submitted to it, the jury found: 1) Perez sustained an occupational disease by reason of poisoning by carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide or nitrous fumes or zinc or all or any combination of said substances, 2) such occupational disease was sustained by Perez while he was employed by Todd, 3) it was the producing cause of total disability, 4) the total disability was permanent, 5) it began on December 11, 1966, 7) the occupational disease was not found to be a producing cause of any partial disability, 11) the occupational disease was due to the nature of his employment, in which the hazards of such disease actually exist, 12) the occupational disease is characteristic of the claimant’s employment with Todd and is peculiar to his trade, occupation, process or employment, 13) his disability began within one year of his last injurious exposure to the hazards or causes of the disease, 14) Todd had notice within thirty days of the first distinct manifestation of the occupational disease, 17) the occupational disease is aggravated by emphysema, pneumoconiosis or essential hypertension, 18) the occupational disease bears a 100% proportion as a causative factor to all the causes of the claimant’s incapacity, 19) his incapacity from emphysema, hypertension or pneumoconiosis is aggravated, prolonged, accelerated or contributed to by the occupational disease, 20) such occupational disease, as a causative factor, bears a 100% proportion to all the causes of the claimant’s incapacity and 21) when Perez sustained the occupational disease, he was not found by the jury to have been suffering from a prior existing disease, impairment or condition of his lungs which is the sole cause of his incapacity.

We overrule the point of error by which appellant complains that the first special issue was submitted alternatively, specifically and globally at the same time. The transcript contains an instrument which reflects that counsel for both parties and the trial judge agreed that objections to the charge might be dictated and considered as having been timely filed. The record does not show, however, that the transcribed objections were presented to the trial judge so that he could endorse on them his official signature as required by Rule 272, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, so we cannot consider them. Big Three Welding Co. v. Roberts, 399 S.W.2d 912, 918 (Corpus Christi Tex.Civ.App.1966, writ ref., n. r. e.); Texas General Indemnity Co. v. McNeill, 261 S.W.2d 378 (Beaumont Tex.Civ.App.1953, no writ); State v. Turboff, 431 S.W.2d 953 (Houston 1st Tex.Civ.App., 1968, no writ).

Appellant raises “no evidence” and “great weight of the evidence” points of error as to the jury’s answers to Special Issues 1, 3, 11, 12, 13, 18 and 20.

Mr. Lenamond, a welding and metallurgical consultant, described the production of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in welding and testified that zinc oxide fumes are among the fumes produced when welding is being done on galvanized mild steel; that the fumes make welding very dangerous in areas where the ventilation is inadequate. Mr. Perez related that he had been welding on that type of steel before and during the period when he became ill, December 6 to December 11, 1966, and that it was his welding on the galvanized steel and the zinc that made him sick. Also, that he had been welding in poorly ventilated areas on barges that were being built.

Dr. F. J. Gibson testified that Perez has a lung condition which has progressed to the point that almost any type of dust or fumes will irritate his bronchial tubes and cause him to have an asthma attack. He testified on direct examination by Mr. Ray:

Q “Now, Doctor, taking into consideration your examination and treatment of *583 the — and the history given to you by Mr. Perez and further taking into consideration the hypothetical situation that — that—that this man was welding on his job and that while he was welding he was in — many times in an area of close ventilation or at least limited ventilation — taking also into consideration that as a result of this welding there were certain gases or fumes known as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous fumes excreted from this weld while welding in this close area — based upon those facts Doctor, do you have an opinion concerning the causation or the cause of the condition which you have found in Mr. Perez?
A “I would say this would precipitate a crisis — I might say it might cause— be the primary cause.
Q “What, in your opinion, Doctor, would in — or did in Mr. Perez’s case, cause the condition which you found him to be — upon your examination of him?
A “I’d say an inhalation of some sort has caused him to have the damage to his lungs.
Q “Would this inhalation be in the form of poisoning by some of these substances I have mentioned or any or all?
A “If he were to breath these it would poison him.
Q “By those poisons — Doctor, would that poisoning result in his condition as it exists here today and as it existed upon your examination of him?
A “Yes, sir.
Q “Now, Doctor, with reference to your examination of him and your conclusions, have you any conclusions other than this reflected in the hospital records concerning Mr. Perez’s condition or the condition of his body?
A “I believe that Mr. Perez will be permanently disabled from working around any type of material that puts off fumes or a dust of any kind of a material that will irritate the lining of his lungs.
Q “Could he now, in your opinion, Doctor, do work where he would be susceptible to dust or — or any type of irritant in the air?
A “No, I wouldn’t advise him to work under those conditions.
Q “Would he be able to do that without injuring his body further?
A “He would be unable to.
Q “Now Doctor, with reference to your diagnosis that you have before you there that were made at the time of admission to the hospital, will you tell the jury, please, sir, exactly what your diagnosis is — that is chronic bronchitis is one and asthma and emphysema— explain and tell the jury if those are diseases in and of themselves or are they conditions of the body ?
A “Emphysema is a condition of the body such as the dimming of vision and graying of hair — it is an aging process.

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Bluebook (online)
446 S.W.2d 580, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2905, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/charter-oak-fire-insurance-company-v-perez-texapp-1969.