Service Lloyds Insurance Co. v. Slay

800 S.W.2d 359, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 2870, 1990 WL 184042
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 28, 1990
DocketNo. 08-90-00068-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 800 S.W.2d 359 (Service Lloyds Insurance Co. v. Slay) 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
Service Lloyds Insurance Co. v. Slay, 800 S.W.2d 359, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 2870, 1990 WL 184042 (Tex. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION

FULLER, Justice.

After a jury finding awarding total and permanent benefits under the Texas Worker’s Compensation Act, the trial court entered judgment awarding the injured worker lifetime benefits payable in a lump sum. As reformed, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

FACTS

James L. Slay was employed as a mechanic with Frontier Ford Sales, Inc. in Humble, Texas, when on February 8, 1985, he alleges he sustained an injury “to his neck and upper back.” It was claimed that the accident occurred while Appellee was working underneath an automobile. He stated that the engine fell off of a hydraulic jack and struck him causing the injuries complained of. After complaining of persistent tingling and numbness of his extremities, a myelogram was done in December 1985, resulting in surgery on the Appellee’s neck. Appellee’s workers’ compensation claim was filed with the Industrial Accident Board and resulted in an award in his favor. Appellant appealed the award to the trial court denying the on-the-job accident and asserting that if Appellee was suffering from any disability it was the result of a pre-existing condition unrelated to the employment. Appellant to this date has paid no compensation benefits to Ap-pellee, steadfastly maintaining that it owes none.

JURY FINDINGS

The jury, in answer to the questions submitted to them, found that:

(1) Appellee was injured in the course and scope of his employment;
(2) The injury resulted in permanent total incapacity;
(3) The injury produced permanent total loss of use of both legs.

Based on the jury findings, the trial court entered judgment for lifetime benefits, payable in. a lump sum, plus past due medical expenses on which prejudgment [361]*361interest was awarded, and lifetime medical benefits.

APPELLANT DID NOT TIMELY SEEK ANY RELIEF WHATSOEVER IN THE TRIAL COURT AFTER JUDGMENT WAS ENTERED, SUCH AS A MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL, MOTION TO VACATE, REFORM, CORRECT OR MODIFY THE JUDGMENT.

As observed below, the Appellant’s contentions represented by its four points of error are based solely on claimed trial court’s error in entering the judgment that it did.

POINTS OF ERROR and SCOPE OF REVIEW

Appellant’s Points of Error Nos. One, Two and Three involve matters of law that were decided by the trial judge. DID THE TRIAL JUDGE RULE CORRECTLY ON THESE “LAW QUESTIONS?”

Point of Error No. One asserts the trial court erred in entering judgment for lump sum benefits under Article 8306, § 10(d) (Vernon Supp.1990).

The trial court found that under the statute he had discretion to “lump sum” lifetime benefits. Our review as to this point of error is whether, under the statute, lifetime benefits may be “lump summed” or must the lifetime benefits be paid in weekly installments? This was a pure “matter of law” decision by the trial court.

Point of Error No. Two asserts that the trial court erred in entering judgment awarding prejudgment interest on Appel-lee’s past due medical expenses.

The jury found that Appellee was entitled to recover his past due medical expenses. This decision by the trial court will be reviewed also on the basis of whether or not the trial court correctly applied the law by awarding prejudgment interest on the past due medical expenses.

Point of Error No. Three asserts the trial court erred in entering judgment for lifetime benefits because Appellee’s pleadings did not support the entry of such a judgment.

This is a matter of law challenge, therefore our review is limited to whether Appel-lee’s pleadings were sufficient to support the award of lifetime benefits.

Point of Error No. Four asserts the trial court erred IN ENTERING JUDGMENT as the evidence only supports total and permanent incapacity of 401 weeks, not lifetime benefits.

The attack on “error of the trial court in entering judgment” raises a “no evidence” challenge and we will address the point of error on that basis. Calvert, No Evidence and Insufficient Evidence Points of Error, 38 Texas L.Rev. 361 (1960); Calvert, How an Errorless Judgment Can Become Erroneous, 20 St. Mary’s L.J. 229 (1989).

MATTER OF LAW POINTS OF ERROR

We first turn to the question of whether prejudgment interest can be applied to past due medical expenses (Point of Error No. Two). The trial court ruled “yes” and we find this was error. Martinez v. Highlands Insurance Company, 644 S.W.2d 442 (Tex.1982); Standard Fire Insurance v. Morgan, 745 S.W.2d 310 (Tex.1987).

Point of Error No. Two is sustained.

Did Appellee’s trial pleadings support the entry of a judgment for lifetime benefits? (Point of Error No. Three).

We hold “YES” and for several reasons: (1) Appellee’s pleadings were sufficient; (2) no special exceptions were urged as to those pleadings; and (3) crucial medical evidence was admitted without timely objection being made by Appellant. Therefore, the issue of incapacity was tried by consent.

Appellee’s trial pleadings alleged he sustained “an injury to his neck and upper back” and that he was “totally and permanently incapacitated_” [Emphasis added]. He then pled that he was ENTITLED TO RECOVER THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ALLOWABLE WEEKLY BENEFITS at the time of his injury FOR THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF TIME PERMISSIBLE under the Workers’ Compensation Act or in the al[362]*362ternative FOR ⅛01 WEEKS, whichever is greater for his injuries and total incapacity. The effect of this pleading was that the least he wanted was 401 weeks of benefits but primarily was seeking more or the maximum that could be obtained for his injuries and total incapacity.

If Appellant was unhappy, unsure or concerned with the potential benefits sought or claimed it should have urged exceptions to Appellee’s pleadings. Tex.R. Civ.P. 90. It chose not to. As stated in Roark v. Allen, 633 S.W.2d 804 (Tex.1982) at page 809:

When there are no special exceptions, a petition will be construed liberally in favor of the pleader. [Emphasis added].

In the Roark opinion the Supreme Court quoted from Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Bliss, 368 S.W.2d 594, 599 (Tex.1963):

The court urill look to the pleader’s in-tendment and the pleading will be upheld even if some element of a cause of action has not been specifically alleged. Every fact will be supplied that can reasonably be inferred from what is specifically stated. [Emphasis added].

Appellant insists that it had not waived any pleading defect because it objected at trial to the insufficient pleading. Appellant contends that such an objection was made to a medical doctor’s testimony regarding “total loss of use” “because it [sic] has not been pled."

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
800 S.W.2d 359, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 2870, 1990 WL 184042, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/service-lloyds-insurance-co-v-slay-texapp-1990.