Federal Underwriters Exchange v. McDaniel

140 S.W.2d 979, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 425
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 12, 1940
DocketNo. 3633
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 140 S.W.2d 979 (Federal Underwriters Exchange v. McDaniel) 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
Federal Underwriters Exchange v. McDaniel, 140 S.W.2d 979, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 425 (Tex. Ct. App. 1940).

Opinion

WALKER, Chief Justice.

This is a compensation case, with appel-lee, I. M. McDaniel, the employee, and Federal Underwriters Exchange the compensation insurance carrier. On the 28th day of August, 1939, on the verdict of the jury finding the essential fact», judgment was rendered in appellee’s favor against appellant for the sum of $4,441.57, to be paid in a lump sum, with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from date of the judgment, from which appellant has duly prosecuted its appeal to this court. No assignment is presented against the sufficiency of the evidence to support the findings of the jury on the issues of total, permanent incapacity, and of the lump sum settlement. Appellant’s principal attack is directed against the findings of the jury on the issue of “good cause” for the delay in filing his claim with the Industrial Accident Board from May 30, 1938, the date of the injury, to February 4, 1939.

Section 4a of Art. 8307, Vernon’s Ann. Civ.St. provides: “Unless the association or subscriber have notice of the injury, no proceeding for compensation for injury under this law shall be maintained unless a notice of the injury shall have been given to the association or subscriber within thirty days after the happening thereof, and unless a claim for compensation with respect to such injury shall have been made within six months after the occurrence of same; or, in case of death of the employé or in the event of his physical or mental incapacity, within six months after death or the removal of such physical or mental incapacity. For good cause the board may, in meritorious cases, waive the strict compliance with the foregoing limitations as to notice, and the filing the claim before the board.”

The jury found that: (a) Appellee’s employer, Peavy-Moore Lumber Company, had notice of his injury within 30 days after May 30, 1938, the date he was injured; (b) Appellee filed his claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board; (c) immediately after his injury, Dr. M. M. Hearne, the company physician, advised appellee that his injury would be temporary; (d) from time to time after he was injured, Dr. Hearne advised ap-pellee that his injury would be temporary; (e) immediately after his injury. Dr. Hearne advised appellee that his injury was not of a permanent nature; (f) from time to time after he was injured, Dr. Hearne advised appellee that his injury was not of a permanent nature; (g) ap-pellee relied upon the advice given him by Dr. Hearne; (h) the advice given appel-lee by Dr. Hearne caused him to delay filing his claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board; (i) on account of the advice given him by Dr. Hearne, appellee delayed filing his claim for compensation from June 1, 1938, to February 4, 1939; (j) the advice given appellee by Dr. Hearne “constituted good cause” for appellee “not filing his claim with the Industrial Accident Board”; (k) appellee [982]*982“had good cause” for not filing his claim with the Industrial Accident Board from June 1, 1938, to February 4, 1939, and he had good cause “for not filing his claim for compensation during all of such period of time”; (1) on or about the 22d day of December, 1938, W. S. Miller, one of appellant’s representatives, stated to ap-pellee that it would not be necessary for him to file a claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board, and appel-lee believed and relied upon the statement made to him by W. S. Miller, and the statement made to him by W. S. Miller caused him “to delay the filing of his claim for compensation with fhe Industrial Accident Board until the date that the same was filed,” “because of the statement so made to him * * * by the said W. S. Miller” appellee “had good cause for not filing his claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board until the same was filed,” and “such good cause” continued to exist from the time Miller made his statement to appellee until appellee filed his claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board.

On the issue of “good cause” the court, in rendering judgment, found the following facts supplementary to. the jury’s verdict :

“That the said company had notice of plaintiff’s injury within thirty (30) days after the same was received; that the plaintiff did not present a claim for compensation to the Industrial Accident Board of the State of Texas until the 4th day of February, 1939, but had good cause for not presenting his said claim for compensation to the Industrial Accident Board from the date of his said injury until the date he prepared his claim for compensation and forwarded the same to the Industrial Accident Board. In this connection, the court finds that the defendant was a laboring man, being uneducated and barely able to read and write. That the plaintiff, immediately after his injury was received, consulted Dr. M. M. Hearne, the doctor for the Peavy-Moore Lumber Company, at Deweyville, Texas, and was advised by the said doctor that his injury was not permanent, and that the plaintiff would in a short time fully recover. That the plaintiff continued to consult the said Dr. Hearne from time to time until on or about the date that his claim for compensation was prepared and filed with the Industrial Accident Board. The court finds that, notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff suffered pain from the date of his injury, he relied .upon the advice of the said Dr. Hearne from the date the said injury was received until on or about the date that his claim was prepared and forwarded to the Industrial Accident Board, as just stated. That after the plaintiff received the said injury, he suffered pain all along, but such pain was less severe at times and -he had reason to believe that his injury was not permanent and that he would recover, and he was encouraged by the advice of the said Dr. Hearne, and, desiring to work, believed all along that the representations of the said Dr. Hearne were true.

“The court further finds that on or about the 22nd day of December, 1938, a representative of the defendant called to see plaintiff and endeavored to conclude a settlement with him, and at such time advised the plaintiff that it was not necessary for him, the plaintiff, to present a claim for compensation to the Industrial Accident Board; that at such time the plaintiff was still unaware of his true condition ;. and that, while the plaintiff understood when he was first injured that he would be required to file a claim for compensation if he was permanently injured, he, realizing that the said agent was fully informed and acting with authority, believed that the representation so made was true, and that it would not be necessary for him to file a claim for compensation; and, relying upon such representation, the plaintiff did not prepare and forward his claim to the Industrial Accident Board until the 4th day of February, 1939, when he first learned that such claim had to be filed. That he relied upon the representation of said representative from the date such representation was made until the claim for compensation was actually prepared by him and forwarded to the Industrial Accident Board on the 4th day of February, 1939.

“The court further finds that the defendant was relying upon the representations of the said Dr. M. M. Hearne from the date of his injury until on or about the 22nd day of December, 1939, and that the evidence to this effect was undisputed and born out by the verdict of the jury; and further, that the plaintiff was relying upon the representations of the said Dr. Hearne when, on the 22nd day of December, 1938, he was told by the said repre[983]*983sentative of the defendant that he did not have to file a claim for compensation.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
140 S.W.2d 979, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 425, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/federal-underwriters-exchange-v-mcdaniel-texapp-1940.