Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Vick

155 S.W.2d 664
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 27, 1941
DocketNo. 5349
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 155 S.W.2d 664 (Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Vick) 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
Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Vick, 155 S.W.2d 664 (Tex. Ct. App. 1941).

Opinion

FOLLEY, Justice.

This is a workmen’s compensation case in which the appellee, Clyde Vick, was the insured, the appellant, Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, the insurer, and the West Texas Cotton Oil Company at Shamrock, the employer. The appellee alleged injuries to various parts of his body as a result of lifting on a lint press on February 8, 1939 while working for the cotton oil company. Such injuries were alleged to have been permanent, totally disabling the claimant for a year which was followed by 50% partial incapacity for at least 300 weeks. The appellee recovered judgment for $1,134 based upon a jury verdict of twelve weeks total incapacity, 50% permanent partial incapacity and an average weekly wage rate of $6 which was fixed as just and fair to both parties.

The court submitted to the jury special issue No. 1 as follows: “Do you find from the preponderance of the evidence that on the 8th day of February 1939, plaintiff Clyde Vick, was injured while lifting a part or portion of'the lint press in the mill of the West Texas Cotton Oil Company at Shamrock, Texas? Answer yes or no.” This issue was answered in the affirmative. The appellant objected to the form of the issue because it allegedly was too broad and general and did not confine the inquiry to an injury pleaded by the appellee and sustained by the proof, but left the jury to speculate upon the kind and type of injuries sustained independent of the pleadings and testimony. The court’s failure to sustain this objection is made the basis for appellant’s first point seeking reversal of the judgment.

There is no evidence of any injury not alleged and there was but one accident in which the injuries were sustained. It is evident that the injuries which were supported by the pleadings and the proof resulted in the only disability suffered by the appellee and were the only source of his incapacity. Moreover, the objection to issue No. 1 was within, itself very "broad and general”. It did not apprise the court of what injuries the appellant desired included in or eliminated from the issue. An almost identical objection was made to a similar issue in the case of Traders & General Ins. Co. v. Wright, Tex.Civ.App., 144 S.W.2d 626, writ refused, and the court held that the issue was not objectionable on the ground that it was too vague, general and indefinite. Such decision was based primarily upon the former decision of Southern Underwriters v. Parker, Tex.Civ.App., 129 S.W.2d 738, writ refused, wherein a similar holding was made. Furthermore, as was said in the Wright case [144 S.W.2d 630], if the objection in the instant case “should be deemed sufficient to point out to the trial court the error, if any, complained of, so that it might have re-framed the issue, and if said issue is deemed erroneous, we think the judgment should not be reversed since it is plain that the defendant was not surprised nor injured thereby, nor was such action reasonably calculated to effect such result”.

In connection with this assignment the appellant relies chiefly upon our holding on this question in the recent case of Texas Employers Ins. Ass’n v. Pierson, Tex.Civ.App., 135 S.W.2d 550, 555. The Pier-son case involved two distinct injuries occurring on separate occasions and for each of which injuries the claimant sought compensation. Such fact to some extent distinguishes that case from the present case, however, if the two cases may not be dis[666]*666tinguished and if the holding in the Pierson case be construed as being in conflict with our present holding, nevertheless, we are inclined to the opinion that the rule announced in the Wright and Parker cases is the more accurate and reasonable doctrine to be applied to the facts of this case'and should govern our disposition of this assignment. Appellant’s contention in this respect is therefore overruled. Traders & General Ins. Co. v. Wright, supra; Southern Underwriters v. Parker, supra; Southern Underwriters v. Thomas, Tex.Civ.App., 131 S.W.2d 409; Southern Underwriters v. Cooper, Tex.Civ.App., 138 S.W.2d 563; Federal Underwriters Exchange v. Carroll, Tex.Civ.App., 130 S.W.2d 1101; Federal Underwriters Exchange v. Rigsby, Tex.Civ.App., 130 S.W.2d 1105; Southern Underwriters v. Kelly, Tex.Civ.App., 110 S.W.2d 153; Maryland Casualty Co. v. Jackson, Tex.Civ.App., 139 S.W.2d 631.

The trial court submitted special issue No. 2 in the following manner: “Do you find from the preponderance of the evidence that from doing such lifting, if he was so doing, plaintiff sustained any accidental personal injury alleged in his petition? Answer yes or no.” This issue was answered in the affirmative. The appellant made substantially the same objections to this issue as were made to special issue No. 1, and also objected because of the reference to the pleading. Such objections were overruled. The appellant’s second point for reversal is based upon the court’s action in this respect. What we have said above relative to the generality of the objections to the first issue applies with equal force here. The appellant again failed to advise the court as to what should be included in or excluded from the issue in question. Nor did the appellant state or point out specifically that any part of the pleading was unsupported by the evidence or wherein any harm would result to it by the reference to the petition. We therefore overrule this assignment upon the same reasoning and authority as above stated.

Special issues 7, 8, 9 and 10 were submitted and answered in the following manner:

“If you have answered issue No. 2 in the affirmative and not otherwise, then you will answer special issue No. 7.
“Special Issue No. 7: Do you find from the preponderance of the evidence that from his injury, if any, plaintiff sustained partial incapacity? Answer yes or no.
“Answer: ;Yes.
“If you have- answered special issue No. 7, in the affirmative- and not’ otherwise, then you will answer special issues Nos. 8-9-10.
“Special Issue No. 8: What do you find from the preponderance of the evidence to be the beginning date of plaintiff’s partial incapacity, if any? Answer by giving the date, if any found.
“Answer: May 8, 1939.
“Special Issue No. 9: Do you find from the preponderance of the evidence such partial incapacity, if any you have found in answer to special issue No. 7, to be permanent ? Answer yes or no.
“Answer: Yes.
“Special Issue No. 10: From the preponderance of the evidence how many weeks, if any, of partial incapacity, if any you have found in answer to special issue No.

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155 S.W.2d 664, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hartford-accident-indemnity-co-v-vick-texapp-1941.