Pacific Employers Indemnity Co. v. Custer

540 S.W.2d 780, 1976 Tex. App. LEXIS 3099
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 26, 1976
DocketNo. 5636
StatusPublished

This text of 540 S.W.2d 780 (Pacific Employers Indemnity Co. v. Custer) 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
Pacific Employers Indemnity Co. v. Custer, 540 S.W.2d 780, 1976 Tex. App. LEXIS 3099 (Tex. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

OPINION

McDONALD, Justice.

This is a workmans compensation case. Appellant Pacific, the insurance carrier filed suit to set aside final award of the Industrial Accident Board awarding death benefits to appellees, because of the death of Edwin D. Custer. Appellee’s widow and minor children of Edwin D. Custer answered, and cross actioned seeking death benefits under the compensation law.

[781]*781Appellees alleged Edwin D. Custer, on April 5,1974, while working in the course of his employment for Handy Andy Inc., “suffered a bodily injury to his head, brain and body generally, as a result of physical exertion, which injury caused or contributed to cause his death on April 9, 1974”, and, if at the time such injuries were sustained Edwin D. Custer was suffering from any disease or condition, then the same was not disabling, and said injuries caused such disease or condition to become aggravated, excited, precipitated, worsened, or accelerated, so that the same caused or contributed to cause said injury and resulting death of Custer.

Appellant alleged Custer’s death was solely caused by prior or subsequent diseases namely “intra-cerebral hemorrhage of the right hemisphere, acute bronchopneu-monia, central nervous system anoxic degeneration, mild nephrosclerosis, mild arte-riosclerotic heart disease”.

Trial was to a jury which found:

1) Custer received an injury on or about April 5, 1974.
2) Which was in the course of his employment by Handy Andy, Inc.
3) And that such injury was a producing cause of the death of Custer.

The trial court rendered judgment on the verdict for death benefits for appellees.

Appellants appeal on 6 points contending the trial court erred:

1) In refusing to submit Appellant’s Requested Issue 1-A with accompanying instruction.
2) In refusing to submit Appellant’s Alternate Requested Issue 1-A with accompanying instruction.
3) In rendering judgment for appellees because there is no evidence to support the jury’s answer to Issue 1.
4) In rendering judgment for appellees because there is no evidence to support the jury’s answer to Issue 2.
5) In rendering judgment for appellees because there is no evidence to support the jury’s answer to Issue 3.
6)In overruling appellant’s objection to the hypothetical question propounded to Dr. Lewis Heifer by counsel for appellees.

Points 1 and 2 complain of the refusal of the trial court to submit its Requested Issues 1-A and Alternate 1-A.

The trial court submitted issues with accompanying instructions as follows:

“1) Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Edwin Custer received an injury on or about April 5, 1974?
“Injury means damage or harm to the physical structure of the body and such diseases or infections as naturally resulting therefrom, or the incitement, acceleration, or aggravation of any disease, infirmity or condition, previously or subsequently existing, by reason of such damage or harm.
“There can be no ‘injury’ as defined, if any damage or harm was solely caused by any pre-existing event or bodily condition or any subsequently developing event or bodily condition not incited, accelerated or aggravated by the movement of the acetylene bottles, and you are instructed that the burden is on the plaintiff to establish that such pre-existing or subsequent event or bodily condition was not the sole cause of any damage or harm.
“Answer ‘we do’ or ‘we do not’
“Answer_
“If you have answered Issue 1 ‘we do’, then please answer Issue 2. Otherwise, do not answer Issue 2.
“2) Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Edwin Custer received an injury in the course of his employment by Handy Andy, Inc.?
“Injury in the course of employment means any injury having to do with and originating in the work, business, trade or profession of the employer, received by an employee while engaged in or about the furtherance of the affairs of business of his employer, whether upon the employer’s premises or elsewhere.
“Answer: ‘we do’ or ‘we do not’
“Answer:_
[782]*782“If you have answered Issue 2 ‘we do’ then please answer Issue 3. Otherwise do not answer Issue 3.
“3) Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such injury was a producing cause of the death of Edwin Custer?
“ ‘Producing cause’ means any injury or condition which, either independently or together with one or more other injuries or conditions, resulted in death, and without which such death would not have occurred when it did.
“An injury cannot be a ‘producing cause’ of death, if the death was solely caused by any event or bodily condition which pre-existed or developed subsequent to the movement of the acetylene bottles. You are instructed the burden is on the plaintiff to establish that such pre-existing or subsequent event or bodily condition was not the sole cause of the death”.

Appellant requested the following additional issues which the trial court refused to submit.

“1-A. Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such injury was the result of an accident?
“ ‘Accident’ means an undesigned or •unexpected occurrence, traceable to a definite time and place and an injury is not the result of an accident if it was the result of natural cause or causes.
“Alternate 1-A. Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such injury was the result of an accident?
“‘Accident’ means an undesigned or unexpected occurrence, traceable to a definite time and place”.

The evidence shows without dispute that the deceased on April 5, 1974 had to move two acetylene tanks on a two-wheel dolly, and that such apparatus was heavy, weighing from 120 to 300 pounds; that when deceased moved the acetylene tanks he turned red, had pain in his head, looked tired; went to the restroom where he vomited; had difficulty with his hands the next day and complained he was ill and went home from work in the morning; had a splitting headache and was getting weaker, was taken to the hospital April 6; arrived in a coma; and died on April 9, of an intra cerebral hemorrhage.

Succinctly stated it was appellee’s position that deceased suffered an injury on April 5, 1974 due to the strain from lifting the heavy acetylene bottles which was a producing cause of his stroke and subsequent death.

Appellant’s position was that deceased pre-existing condition was the sole cause of deceased’s death.

For there to be an accidental injury, or an industrial accident, there must be an undesigned, untoward event traceable to a definite time, place and cause. Olson v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.,

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Related

Solomon v. Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Co.
347 S.W.2d 17 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1961)
Olson v. Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company
477 S.W.2d 859 (Texas Supreme Court, 1972)
Guzman v. Maryland Casualty Co.
107 S.W.2d 356 (Texas Supreme Court, 1937)

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Bluebook (online)
540 S.W.2d 780, 1976 Tex. App. LEXIS 3099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pacific-employers-indemnity-co-v-custer-texapp-1976.