Fidelity Union Casualty Co. v. Munday

26 S.W.2d 676, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 279
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 8, 1930
DocketNo. 10480.
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 26 S.W.2d 676 (Fidelity Union Casualty Co. v. Munday) 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
Fidelity Union Casualty Co. v. Munday, 26 S.W.2d 676, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 279 (Tex. Ct. App. 1930).

Opinions

Appellant, Fidelity Union Casualty Company, instituted its suit to set aside an award of the Industrial Accident Board made in favor of appellee, J. D. Munday, on account of injuries alleged by appellee to have been received by him on the 8th day of August, 1927, while in the discharge of his duties as an employee of Cramer Co. at Dallas, Tex., under a contract of hire, whereby he worked for his said employer in the capacity of concrete finisher at a wage of $10 per day, and worked six days in each week.

Appellee duly filed his answer by way or cross-action, in which, among other things, he alleged: "That heretofore to-wit on the 8th day of August 1927, and for a long period of time prior to that date, defendant J. D. Munday was an employee of said Cramer *Page 677 Company at Dallas, Texas under a contract of hire, whereby he worked for said Cramer Company in the capacity of concrete finisher at a wage of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per day, and worked six days in each week; that defendant Munday is by trade a concrete finisher and on the concrete work undertaken by his employers, did the finishing work on the job; that said work is strenuous work, requiring the use of trowel, straight edge, sledge hammers, and other tools; that heretofore, to wit, on the 8th day of August, 1927, said Cramer Company were engaged on a concrete job in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas; that in connection with such work, said employers always used a heavy machine known as a concrete mixer; that on said date defendant Munday was undertaking to tighten the bowl on the concrete mixer and in so doing, his right hand was caught and crushed between the bowl and the frame of the mixer; that said accident resulted in defendant receiving deep lacerations and bruises on the back of his hand and other serious injuries to his hand, as follows to-wit: a fracture of the second meta-carpal bone and bruising of the soft tissues of the hand; sprains of the joints including the wrists, a dislocation of the terminal phalanges of the third and fourth fingers, a severe wrenching of the tendons of the hand; a decided separation or enlargement of the spaces between the index finger and the second finger of the injured hand, and the displacement of the phalanges of the third and fourth fingers of the hand; that as a result of said injuries to his hand, said hand has become and now is numb and lifeless, and the joints in the fingers of the hand are without the proper amount of flexion and are stiff, and all the joints of the hand and fingers are stiff, so that defendant is unable to close his hand or to exert any use or control over the movements of the same, and defendant suffers continually pain in said hand. The index finger on the injured hand has been forced beneath the middle finger so that it is completely out of alignment, thus making it lack coordination; that the hand becomes swollen and inflamed at frequent intervals, which condition is aggravated by any attempt to use the hand or exercise it; that said injuries have rendered defendant totally and permanently disabled in the use of his right hand; that defendant will always be powerless to ever again use said hand in plying the tools of his trade or in performing any kind of physical labor; that by reason of said injuries, defendant is entitled to receive compensation at the rate of $20.00 per week for a period of one hundred and fifty weeks."

Appellee prayed for "judgment for compensation for 150 weeks at the rate of $20.00 per week from August 8, 1927, less credit for payments of weekly compensation heretofore made, plus interest at the rate of six per cent. on all past due installments of compensation * * * that the award of the Industrial Accident Board be affirmed * * * for costs and for such other relief, general and special, to which he may show himself to be justly entitled, either in law or in equity." Appellant by a general denial joined issue with appellee on the above allegations. It was agreed between the parties that appellant was the compensation insurer; that its policy was in effect and covered appellee at the time of his injury; that appellee gave due and timely notice of his injuries, and made claim for compensation within the statutory time; that the Industrial Accident Board made its final ruling and decision on appellee's claim; that appellant gave due and timely notice of appeal, and within the time allowed by law instituted this suit to set aside the action of the Industrial Accident Board.

Following are the special issues submitted and answers made thereto by the jury:

"No. 1: Do you find and believe, from a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant, J. D. Munday, sustained a total loss of the use of his right hand for a period of time as a result of the injuries he received on the occasion in question? Answer, `Yes.'

"No. 2: How long do you find and believe, from a preponderance of the evidence, that the total loss of the use of defendant's right hand continued from the date of its injuries? You shall answer in the number of weeks. Answer, `Fifteen weeks.'

"No. 3: Do you find and believe, from a preponderance of the evidence, that defendant, J. D. Munday, suffered and will suffer the partial loss of the use of his right hand resulting from his said injuries? Answer, `Yes.'

"You are instructed that the term `partial loss of the use of his right hand,' as used in special issue No. 3, is meant the extent that the injury to his hand in fact destroys or impairs the ability of the hand to be as efficient or competent for work after the injury as it was before.

"No. 4: Do you find and believe, from a preponderance of the evidence, that the injuries sustained by the defendant, J. D. Munday, to his right hand are permanent? Answer, `Yes.'

"No. 5: What do you find and believe, from a preponderance of the evidence, is the percentage of the permanent partial loss of the use of defendant's right hand? You shall answer giving the percentage. Answer, `75% disabled.'"

The findings of the jury being amply sustained by competent evidence, same are adopted as the findings of fact by this court. The trial court, acting on appellee's motion, on July 19, 1928, rendered judgment on this verdict for appellee for $20 per week for 15 *Page 678 weeks for the temporary total loss of the use of his right hand and for $15 per week for 135 weeks for the permanent partial loss of the use of said hand. Appellant's appeal is before this court upon the following propositions:

"No. 1: Where four different measures of compensation are provided by law, viz.: (1) for general incapacity to work while total, (2) for general incapacity to work while partial, (3) for certain specified losses of members, or the use thereof, without regard to resulting incapacity for work, and (4) for all other cases of partial incapacity in accordance with the degree of incapacity for work and the duration thereof as may be determined by the court, an injured employee who elects to sue for the statutory measure of compensation for permanent and total loss of the use of a hand, to-wit, 150 installments of compensation, irrespective of the existence or not of any incapacity for work caused by the injury, and who does not plead, in the alternative or otherwise, the existence of any facts as to incapacity for work, total or partial, or permanent or temporary, as would entitle him to invoke some other measure of compensation, can recover only upon the theory pleaded, and where the undisputed evidence shows that he has not lost the use of a hand, cannot recover at all."

"No.

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Bluebook (online)
26 S.W.2d 676, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 279, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fidelity-union-casualty-co-v-munday-texapp-1930.