Pacific Employers Indemnity Company v. Aguirre

431 S.W.2d 33, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2475
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 1, 1968
Docket4726
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 431 S.W.2d 33 (Pacific Employers Indemnity Company v. Aguirre) 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 Company v. Aguirre, 431 S.W.2d 33, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2475 (Tex. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinions

OPINION

TIREY, Justice.

This is a compensation case. Appellees are the alleged common law wife and three minor children of the deceased employee. The jury found from a preponderance of the evidence that before 1966 Hellen Aguirre and Serapio Aguirre agreed to become man and wife, and that they lived together as husband and wife in the community until Serapio’s death; that Serapio sustained an injury on or about September 24, 1966, and that such injury was a bodily injury, and was sustained in the course of his employment with Hearne Steel Company; that such injury was the producing cause of the death of Serapio; that such injury was not solely caused by a bodily condition which existed prior to September 24, 1966.

We quote Special Issue No. 7: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that any marriage between Serapio Aguirre and Consuelo Aguirre had not been dissolved before the death of Serapio Aguirre?” To which the jury answered: “We do not.”

The Court overruled the defendant’s motion for judgment N.O.V. and granted plaintiffs’ motion on the verdict. In the Court’s judgment we find this recital:

“Upon Motion of the Plaintiff for Judgment and the Court’s finding that under the pleadings, evidence, and stipulations of the parties (as to the reasonableness and necessity of hospital and medical and funeral bills incurred, and as to the payment of such recovery in a lump sum) the Court does here and now enter judgment for Plaintiffs * *

The Court decreed that Hellen Aguirre recover the sum of $9,750.00 with interest at 6% from date of judgment until the same is paid, and fixed 30% thereof in favor of her attorneys, and further decreed that each of the minor children recover $1919.15 with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from date of judgment, and fixed 30% of each amount as attorneys’ fees for appellees, and taxed the costs against defendant.

The judgment is assailed on 12 points. Points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 present actually one point, which is that the Court erred in entering judgment for the plaintiff because there was no competent evidence adduced that established that Serapio sustained an accidental, compensable injury in the course of his employment, which was a producing cause of his death. Defendant contends under these points that Serapio had a preexisting cerebral aneurysm; that on September 24, 1966, on the premises of his employer, and while operating a forklift, Ser-apio became noticeably ill; that he died October 13, 1966.

Defendant in its brief says:
“While it is true that there is some conflict in the testimony as to the exact type of work Serapio Aguirre was doing during the morning prior to his seizure, the simple fact remains that there is no evidence, expert or otherwise, that Ser-apio Aguirre’s employment in any way contributed to or brought on his death. If the Defendant is liable for compensation benefits in this case, it will be simply because the employee had a seizure or at[35]*35tack from, a pre-existing condition while on the employer’s premises.”

Perhaps we should say at this point that defendant did not attack the common law marriage of Hellen and Serapio, nor the legitimacy of their three minor children.

Defendant says that a fair summary of the judgment shows that Serapio came to work on September 24, 1966 at 6:18 A.M. From that time until about 8:15 A.M. he did some light work sitting at a machine; that about 8:15 or 8:20 A.M. he took a 15 or 20 minute break, at which time he stated to a fellow-employee that he was not feeling well; that after completion of the break un-till the time he became acutely ill, he was helping shift some coils of fencing which had previously been loaded onto a truck and was actually engaged in operating a forklift at the time it became obvious that he was ill; that in 1955 he had been diagnosed as having suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage which was diagnosed “aneurysm anterior communicating arteries”; that on September 24, 1966 following his attack, he was diagnosed as having suffered another subarachnoid hemorrhage; that on September 24, 1966 an operation was performed; that the post-operative diagnosis showed a “large intracerebral hemotoma deep right posterior frontoparietal lobe, with large lobulated aneurysm trifurcation right middle cerebral artery”; that during surgery a large cavity containing necrotic brain and blood was found; that the pathology report showed blood clots from intracerebral hema-toma ; that deceased died October 13, 1966. Defendant contends that the exact cause of death is not shown by the evidence.

Defendant further contends that the evidence shows that deceased had this preexisting cerebral aneurysm, and that he had a seizure or attack while at work, and that apparently this was caused from a rupture of a pre-existing aneurysm and that he later died. Defendant says there is no evidence, expert or otherwise, as to whether or not the work in which deceased was engaged in any way contributed to the rupture of the aneurysm, or that if so this was the cause of his death. Defendant further says that notwithstanding there is some dispute as to exactly how strenuous his work was, looked upon in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, there is no- probative evidence that his injury grew out of or was connected with his work. Defendant claims that the factual situation here, considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, brings this cause within the rules announced by the Supreme Court in the case of Insurance Company of North America v. Myers, 411 S.W.2d 710. Defendant further contends in his brief:

“The thrust of the Supreme Court holding in the above case is that where the cause of death involves a complex medical question, the jury will not be allowed to speculate and guess as to the cause, but that causation must be established by competent medical evidence based on reasonable probabilities.”

Appellees contend that the holding of the Supreme Court in the Myers case is reflected in the following language:

“We note as not controlling here those decisions in workmen’s compensation cases in medical situations not involving the highly uncertain medical problem of the nature, origin and aggravation of cancer. See Maston v. Texas Employer’s Ins. Ass’n, 160 Tex. 439, 331 S.W.2d 907 * * *; Carter v. Travelers Ins. Co., 132 Tex. 288, 120 S.W.2d 581 * * *; Norwich Union Indemnity Co. v. Smith, 12 S.W.2d 558 (Tex.Com.App. * * * jdgmt. adopted); Aetna Ins. Co. v. Hart, 315 S.W.2d 169 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston * * * n. r. e.); American General Ins. Co. v. Barrett, 300 S.W.2d 358 (Tex.Civ.App.—Texarkana * * * n. r. e.) ; Atkinson v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co., 235 S.W.2d 509 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio * * * n. r. e.); Associated Employers Lloyds v. Self, 192 S.W.2d 902 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas * * n. r. e.) ; Galveston, H. & S. A. Ry. Co. v. Harris, 172 S.W. 1129 (Tex.Civ.App.—writ ref’d).”

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Pacific Employers Indemnity Company v. Aguirre
431 S.W.2d 33 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1968)

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431 S.W.2d 33, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2475, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pacific-employers-indemnity-company-v-aguirre-texapp-1968.