Coleman v. Pacific Employers Insurance Company

484 S.W.2d 449, 1972 Tex. App. LEXIS 2273
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 3, 1972
Docket655
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 484 S.W.2d 449 (Coleman v. Pacific Employers Insurance Company) 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
Coleman v. Pacific Employers Insurance Company, 484 S.W.2d 449, 1972 Tex. App. LEXIS 2273 (Tex. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

DUNAGAN, Chief Justice.

This is a workman’s compensation case in which trial was to a jury, which decided in response to special issues that the plaintiff-appellant had sustained both a specific and a general injury. The jury further found that the specific injury produced a loss of use of the plaintiff’s arm and the general injury produced a period of total incapacity. The appellant, plaintiff below, appeals from a judgment based upon this verdict.

Appellant in his brief states: “During the trial of the case while the plaintiff was on the witness stand, he was asked by his attorney about the depression, nightmares and despondency which he suffers. Objection was made to this by counsel for the insurance carrier, the objection being to the effect that since Dr. Caskey, a medical witness, had testified that he did not know where the despondency came from that the plaintiff himself could not give testimony bearing on this subject.”

Appellant by his sole point of error complains of the trial court’s action in refusing to allow the appellant to give the testimony above set out. He brings this case before this court upon an abbreviated or partial statement of facts.

The record consists only of the transcript, a partial statement of facts which includes only the testimony of appellant’s witness, Dr. Caskey, and appellant’s bill of exception. The bill of exception contains questions propounded to the appellant by his attorney and answers thereto concerning his depression, nightmares and despondency since the date of the injury upon which this lawsuit is founded. But nowhere therein does it show any objection was made to the offer of this testimony and consequently no ruling of the court concerning the admission of said testimony.

*452 It was appellant’s burden to support his claim of error with a bill of exception which clearly and accurately reflected the circumstances and rulings complained of. 4 Tex.Jur.2d 39, sec. 507 and Layne Glass Company v. Parker, 340 S.W.2d 363 (Tex.Civ.App., Ft. Worth, 1960, n.w.h.).

The brief for appellant contained no reference as to where the objection and adverse ruling may be found. Nowhere does the record show that any objection was made to the testimony in question or any such objection was sustained by the trial court; therefore, in that posture appellant’s single point of error has not been properly preserved for review and appears to have been waived. 3 Tex.Jur.2d 675, sec. 419; Turner v. Turner, 384 S.W.2d 195, 200 (Tex.Civ.App., Tyler, 1964, n.w.h.); Reid v. Nortex Construction Company, 366 S.W.2d 870, 873 (Tex.Civ.App., Dallas, 1963, writ ref., n.r.e.); Haskell Independent School Dist. v. Ferguson, 178 S.W.2d 130, 132 (Tex.Civ.App., Eastland, 1944, writ ref., w.o.m.); Rule 372(a), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

Moreover, appellee contends (1) the trial court did not err in refusing to allow the appellant to give to the jury the evidence in question because his own medical witness testified that it was impossible to tell what the producing cause of such despondency was and (2) that any error of the trial court in refusing to admit this testimony of appellant was harmless and not reasonably calculated to cause a rendition of an improper judgment under Rule 434, T.R.C.P., because this case is presented only on a partial statement of facts; therefore, it is impossible for appellant to show that any error in evidentiary rulings was prejudicial and for the further reason that the court permitted appellant’s own medical witness, Dr. Caskey, to testify as to appellant’s depression and despondency and thus the rejected testimony of appellant would be repetitious.

Appellee in its brief states: “At the outset, and pursuant to the provisions of Rule 419, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the appellee states that it does not accept any statement contained in Appellant’s Brief as being true and correct, or supported by the records, and it moreover affirmatively states that the Statement of Facts herein is incomplete and partial, and there was other testimony at the trial of the cause which might or could have a bearing upon this case.” In view of this statement, we are not, therefore, able to give effect to Rule 419, T.R.C.P.

Appellant argues that regardless of what other testimony there might have been in the trial of this case, that under the law he was still entitled to give the rejected testimony to the jury and that error was committed by the refusal of the court to admit such testimony. Be that as it may, in the absence of a complete statement of facts, the question to be decided by us, however, is not whether the trial court committed error, but whether such error, if such there was, was harmful, and was calculated to cause and probably did cause the rendition of an improper judgment. Danziger v. Brandes, 457 S.W.2d 146 (Tex.Civ.App., Dallas, 1970, writ ref., n.r.e.); Barrios v. Davis, 415 S.W.2d 714 (Tex.Civ.App., Houston, 1967, n.w.h.) and cited cases; Klimist v. Bearden, 374 S.W.2d 783 (Tex.Civ.App., Tyler, 1964, n.w.h.); Duin v. King, 317 S.W.2d 236 (Tex.Civ.App., San Antonio, 1958, n.w.h.).

If the trial court did commit error, as is contended, it is appellant’s additional burden to show that such error was harmful before the judgment of the trial court may be reversed. An appellate court is not authorized to reverse merely because the record discloses some error reasonably calculated to cause the miscarriage of justice, but the party appealing must also show that it probably did cause the rendition of an improper verdict or judgment. Rule 434, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; Klimist v. Bearden, supra; Dennis v. Hulse, 362 S.W.2d 308 (Tex.Sup., 1962); Gordon v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Com *453 pany, 351 S.W.2d 602 (Tex.Civ.App., Eastland, 1961, writ ref.).

It was appellant’s duty to bring forward a complete record of the evidence before the trial court. This he failed to do. Thrasher v. Hensarling, 406 S.W.2d 515 (Tex.Civ.App., Waco, 1966, n.w.h.); Baker v. Rutherford, 293 S.W.2d 69, 672 (Tex.Civ.App., Waco, 1956, writ ref., n.r. e.). An appeal on record which was insufficient to show that exclusion of evidence was reversible error must be treated as an appeal without statement of facts. Gordon v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, supra.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ashley N. Preslar v. Miguel A. Garcia
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014
Milacron Inc. v. Performance Rail Tie, L.P.
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2008
Richard Odell Martin v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007
Bellaire Kirkpatrick Joint Venture v. Loots
826 S.W.2d 205 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1992)
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad v. Alvarez
670 S.W.2d 338 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1984)
Wagner v. Kroger Co.
663 S.W.2d 43 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1983)
Vautrain v. Vautrain
646 S.W.2d 309 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1983)
Goldsmith v. Stephenson
634 S.W.2d 331 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1982)
Schutz v. Southern Union Gas Co.
617 S.W.2d 299 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1981)
Thompson v. United Services Automobile Ass'n
597 S.W.2d 510 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Irrigation Construction Co. v. Motheral Contractors, Inc.
599 S.W.2d 336 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Lister v. Employers Reinsurance Corp.
590 S.W.2d 803 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1979)
White Ex Rel. White v. Corpus Christi Little Misses Kickball Ass'n
526 S.W.2d 766 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1975)
Archer v. Storm Nursery, Inc.
512 S.W.2d 82 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)
Morris v. Burney
504 S.W.2d 800 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)
Young v. Gardner
507 S.W.2d 250 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)
Williams v. MacK Financial Corporation
505 S.W.2d 316 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)
Williamson v. Johnson
492 S.W.2d 327 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1973)
Ex Parte Gallop
486 S.W.2d 836 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1972)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
484 S.W.2d 449, 1972 Tex. App. LEXIS 2273, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coleman-v-pacific-employers-insurance-company-texapp-1972.