Scott v. Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n

118 S.W.2d 354, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 659
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 27, 1938
DocketNo. 13771.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 118 S.W.2d 354 (Scott v. Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n) 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
Scott v. Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n, 118 S.W.2d 354, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 659 (Tex. Ct. App. 1938).

Opinion

SPEER, Justice.

This appeal involves the Workmen’s Compensation Act, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art. 8306 et seq., and especially section 4a of Article 8307, Vernon’s Tex.Civ.St, relating to “good cause” shown for failure to file claim within statutory time.

John Scott sued Texas Employers’ Insurance Association in a district court of Wichita County, to set aside an adverse award made by the Industrial Accident Board, and for compensation for an accidental injury sustained while in the course of his employment with Wichita Falls Foundry and Machine Company, on about May 2nd, 1936.

Plaintiff’s petition contained all necessary allegations, which, if proven, would have ehtitled him to recover. The jurisdictional allegations concerning notice, both to the employer and the Board,. alone affect the issues before us, and for that reason, we quote from the petition. It reads: “That within six months aftér the date of said injury, towit, on the 27th day of October, A. D. 1936, plaintiff filed his claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board of the State of Texas in the manner prescribed by law, and on the 19th day of November, 1936, he filed an ¿mended notice and claim of injury with the said Board; claiming compensation from said defendant by reason of said injury; that prior, notice had not been given to the Industrial Accident Board, because of the fact plaintiff was not aware of the full extent, kind and nature of his injuries, but that the employer had actual notice of his injuries thereof.

“Plaintiff would further show that he believed his injury was trivial in its nature and not serious until on about October 27th, 1936, when he filed his notice and claim of injury, and that therefore plaintiff had good cause for not giving notice of the injury Within thirty days, and up until the time that he did give such notice.”

Defendant answered by general denial and special defenses, not necessary for us to set out in detail here.

A jury trial was demanded and the testimony was heard. At the conclusion of the introduction of testimony, the defendant moved for an instructed verdict, which was by the court, at that time, overruled. Special issues were prepared and submitted covering all phases of the case, including whether or not plaintiff had shown good cause for having failed to sooner give notice to the Board and the employer of the injuries complained of. .The jury could not agree upon answers to the issues. Only one issue was answered; that was to the effect that the injury sustained was the result of an accident.

The jury was discharged because of the failure to agree, whereupon the defendant renewed its motion for a judgment, in which motion, among other things, it was contended that the evidence showed without dispute that “good cause” did not exist for plaintiff’s failure to give notice of the accident and his injuries to the employer prior to October 27th, 1936, and that the undisputed testimony showed no notice thereof was given to the employer prior to said date nor did the employer have actual notice; that plaintiff knew of the seriousness .of his injuries in July, 1936; that these facts were testified to by plaintiff, and constituted all the evidence on that point.'

The court heard' and, sustained the motion, entering judgment sustaining the award of the Industrial Accident Board and'denied plaintiff any recovery. In the judgment the court said, when the motion for an instructed verdict was made .by defendant he believed it should have beeri given but that he was prevailed upon by plaintiff’s counsel to let the case go to the jury while they investigated the law applicable. He found in the judgment that the undisputed evidence in the case precluded a recovery by plaintiff, and entered the judgment in defendant’s favor.

Plantiff has perfected his appeal and 'assigns this action of the court as error. He contends that whether or not he had shown good cause for not having given notice, as required by law, was a question of fact for determination by a jury, when he had demanded one. As a general rule, his contention is correct. Texas Employers’ Ins. Ass’n v. Fricker, Tex.Civ.App., 16 S.W.2d 390, writ refused; Ocean Accident & Guarantee Corp. v. Pruitt, Tex.Com.App., 58 S.W.2d 41; Texas Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Holloway, Tex.Civ.App., 30 S.W.2d 921, affirmed by Supreme Court, 40 S.W.2d 75; Lloyds Casualty Co. v. Meredith, Tex.Civ.App., 63 S.W.2d 1051; Texas Emp. Ins. Ass’n v. Clark, Tex.Civ.App., 23 S.W.2d 405, writ dismissed; Consolidated Underwriters v. Seale, Tex.Civ.App., 237 S.W. 642, writ dismissed; New Amsterdam Casualty Co. v. Chamness, Tex.Civ.App., 63 S. *356 W.2d 1058, writ refused; Texas Emp. Ins. Ass’n v. Johnson, Tex.Civ.App., 89 S.W.2d 1112, writ dismissed.

But it is only when there is some testimony of substantial probative force- offered that this or any other issue of fact is required to be submitted for a jury determination. Article 2190, Vernon’s Tex.Civ.Statutes.

Article 8307, sec. 4a, R.C.S., with reference to notice to the employer or carrier of insurance provides: “Unless the association or subscriber have notice of the injury, no proceeding for compensation for injury under this law shall be maintained unless a notice of the injury shall have been given to the association or subscriber within thirty days after ttíe happening thereof, and unless a claim for compensation with respect to such injury shall have been made within six months after the occurrence of same. * * * For good cause the board may, in meritorious cases, waive the strict compliance ‘with the foregoing limitations as to notice, and the filing the claim before the board.”

The latitude given by statute to the Board to excuse a claimant for not having complied with all the rules and provisions of the Act is wholesome; it is conducive to the administration of justice under the provisions of the law to furnish sure and prompt compensation to an injured employee ; therefore, a liberal rule of construction is required in the administration of the Act; but notwithstanding all this, the right of recovery is purely statutory; these provisions are easy of performance, and their observance is jurisdictional with the Board and courts. Our Supreme Court said, in Federal Surety Co. v. Jetton, 44 S.W.2d 923, 925: “The rights and remedies given by the Workmen’s Compensation Act are purely statutory; the statutory provisions as to both [notices] are mandatory and exclusive, and must be complied with in all respects; and such compliance is necessary to the exercise of jurisdiction by the first and all succeeding agencies. * * * Each step toward maturity of compensation claim from time of injury to the final adjudication is a mandatory requirement necessary to the exercise of jurisdiction by each agency provided for by this statute.”

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Bluebook (online)
118 S.W.2d 354, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 659, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scott-v-texas-employers-ins-assn-texapp-1938.