ICT Insurance Company v. Gunn

294 S.W.2d 435, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1854
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 11, 1956
Docket3420
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 294 S.W.2d 435 (ICT Insurance Company v. Gunn) 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
ICT Insurance Company v. Gunn, 294 S.W.2d 435, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1854 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinion

TIRÉY, Justice.

This ⅛ a compensation case. -(The main •point is, did claimant show good cause for delayed filing of claim?) It does not yield to a short statement. It is without dispute that appellee suffered an injury on the 29th day of June 1954, while he was employed, but he did not file notice of injury and claim for compensation until June 28, 1955.

• ■ Appellee testified in part to the effect that immediately after he sustained- an injury on June 29, 1954 he felt immediate pain in his lower back and pain shot dowir his right leg; he told the. driller he was injured and sat down for an hour or so immediately afterwards; returning home from work he told the driller.he was going to the doctor for his injury and he went home and went to bed but could fiot ‘sleep because of the pain in -his back; the following day he went to see Dr. Paul Mitchell’.and went back to Dr. Mitchell.a day or so later and the doctor gave him a heat treatment and pills for pain and he did no work whatever from the day after his injüry until Sometime in August, 1954; that about two days after the second visit to Dr. Mitchell, Dr. Mitchell put the plaintiff in the hospital, where he stayed six days “in traction”; that from the time *437 he got out of the hospital until he returned to work some time in August, the appellee applied traction himself at home to ease the pain; that he consulted Dr. Mitchell twice more immediately after leaving the hospital in July, 1954; that for the next year after his injury the appellee worked only about two weeks for Liberty Work Over & Drilling Company; that he did no further public 'work until- December 1954, when he again worked ten days or two weeks for another drilling contractor; that his next public work was in March 1955, when he again 'worked for -another- drilling contractor for about two weeks; that in May 1955 he again workéd'about two weeks for another drilling contractor; that the above described public work of at most eight weeks was all the public work the appellee did from the date of his injury on June' 29, 1954 to June 15, 1955; that during such time he had more than usual trouble with his back on three different occasions, each period lasting from one to two weeks; the first trouble was in December' 1954; on that occasion he went to' a masseur for treatment; that approximately two months later, apparently in about February, 1955, he again suffered a period of unusual trouble with his back, and repeated the treatment from the masseur; that in May 1955 he again had trouble with his báck, this time with additional pain of muscle spasm or cramps, which was something that had not occurred previously.' Appellee further testified to the effect that he went to a chiropractor for relief of the severe pain in May, 1955,-but-that the treatment gave him no relief, and during such period, in May 1955, he had a lot of muscle spasms every night; that on June 15, 1955 he again consulted Dr. Mitchell, who advised him to see a lawyer. Appellee described his present pain and disability at the time of testifying as a pain- in his lower back and down the back of his right leg to a point below the calf of his right leg, with muscle spasms or -cramps when resting at night; that since the- first of June 1955 he had been unable to do any of the kind of work he had formerly done, although he had done what he described as light work for a driller during the two months preceding the trial.

Appellee further testified to the effect that during the three eight hour shifts he worked after his injury on June 29, 1954, and before he consulted a doctor on July 1, 1954, his injury :was extremely painful all the time he worked; that the pain he was suffering at the .time of the trial .was no more severe than the pain suffered by him immediátely after his injury and while he was in the hospital; that he .suffered pain in his back .after returning to work for Liberty Work Oyer & Drilling Company, and also subsequently-while working for Coffield and Guthrie; that the reason he went to a masseur for adjustménts during the year following-his injury was that he knew his back was' injured arid was-hurting; that the pain - he suffered1 immediately after his injury was worse than the pain he was suffering at the time of the trial; that Dr. Mitchell never told plaintiff that he was well or recovered from his injury, and during the year following his injury he had pain in his back when he did heavy work.

He testified by deposition to the effect that from June 29, 1954 to May 1955 there were two or three different times, when he had an opportunity to, go to work when he could not take the job because of the condition of his back, and: that each time ¡the disabling condition of, his. back would last a couple of weeks; -that he quit goirig.to his family physician and started going to -a- masseur because Dr. Mitchell was not doing his back-condition any good and the masseur was; however, he did testify to the effect that one reason he did not go back to Dr. Mitchell was that he did not think his back needed attention; "he said he had pain in his back at all times from the time he got out of the hospital in July 1954 to May 1955; that the pain interfered with his activity; that he knew during that ■ time that. his back was not normal arid *438 that there was .something wrong with hjs back and that .at. times it interfered with his work; that the condition- in his back continued right up until May 1955; that his doctor never told him his condition was not serious or that he would recover; that during the year following his injury he went to a masseur for treatment approximately twenty-one times; that there was never any period of time from the date of his injury up until .May 1955 that his back felt like it should; that at any time during the year following his injury he tried to do heavy work' or any lifting that his back hurt; that during the year after his injury he knew at áll times and every time he worked that he could not do the kind of work he. had been doing before his injury.

Testimony - was further tendered by the • appellee to the effect that in recent years . he had followed two .pursuits, farming and oil field work; that when he was not busy , on the farm he would do oil. field work in the immediate vicinity and that he had. put ; in a. crop every, year since 1948; that • appellee had not received an injury prior to June 29, 1954 which prevented him from doing his regular work; that prior to June 29, 1954 appellee was in good health.; that about 2:00 A.M. he sustained an injury by having- 'excessive weight'suddenly thrown upon his body while in .a bending position; he immediately experienced pain in his back " and right leg, however he continued on the job doing heavy'work for fourteen hours and returned for the next shift; at no time ■ up to- the present time was there, ever, any 'marks,.*, bruises/ lacerations,*-broken ¡bones or' anything visible to* the eye in, .'.upon or ' about appellee’s l.body; according to appel- • le'e’s testimony it was in June' 1955'that he ■ had' for .-the .first time muscle spasms in his ■ leg; when appellee consulted 'his physician on July-1,' 1954 the physician examined him .'but did not prescribe'medicine on the: first .-visit;- on-the next visit .of appellee to his doctor appellee-was placed in the hospital ' fori -approximately six,-days - in; traction, nwhich treatment- improved appellee’s con-'-,ditian;,*..it- appears,- from Dr. .Mitchell-’s testimony that he did not realize that the injui-y of* appellee was a. serious- one and did not expect any permanent difficulty and .

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Bluebook (online)
294 S.W.2d 435, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1854, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ict-insurance-company-v-gunn-texapp-1956.