Southern Underwriters v. Kelly

110 S.W.2d 153, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1231
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 5, 1937
DocketNo. 5156.
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 110 S.W.2d 153 (Southern Underwriters v. Kelly) 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
Southern Underwriters v. Kelly, 110 S.W.2d 153, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1231 (Tex. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

HALL, Justice.

This cause of action arose under the Workmen’s Compensation Act (Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art. 8306 et seq.), and this suit was filed by defendant in error to set aside an award of the Industrial Accident Board. Defendant in error on October 17, 1934, the date he alleges he was injured, was employed by the Lake Refining Company of Gladewater, Tex. On this date while in the discharge of. his duties in making some connections in the cooling tower of said refining company he slipped and fell a distance of four or five feet, becoming wedged between the coils of said tower, thereby inflicting serious and permanent injury to his back. It appears that on the same day or the day after his alleged back injury he received an injury to one of his thumbs by getting it caught in a pump at which he was washing his hands. This thumb injury also occurred at the plant of the Lake Refining Company. The plaintiff in error answered by general denial. Trial was to a jury on special issues which were answered favorably to defendant in error, and judgment was rendered accordingly for him for 401 weeks for total and permanent incapacity and for damages payable in a lump sum. From this judgment plaintiff in error has appealed to this court.

*155 On this appeal plaintiff in error raises three points. Point 1 is: “The defendant is entitled to a new trial of this cause because the basic issues upon which its liability was predicated were submitted to the jury in so broad a form that the jury in answering them might well have given consideration to matters in evidence not alleged or relied on by plaintiff in his petition and could have answered them truthfully in the affirmative (favorable to plaintiff) without giving consideration to the facts alleged as a basis of recovery.”

This point has special reference to special Issue Nos. 1 and 2 in the court’s charge, which issues are: “No. 1: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff, V. E. Kelly, sustained an injury to his body on the 17th' day of October, 1934?”

This special issue is followed immediately by a definition of “injury,” which is: “You are instructed that the term ‘injury’ or ‘personal injury’ whenever the said term appears in this charge shall have the following meaning: ‘injury or harm to the physical structure of the body and such diseases or infection as naturally result therefrom.’ ”

“No. 2. Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the injuries, if any, that the plaintiff, V. E. Kelly, received on or about the 17th day of October, 1934, were injuries sustained in the course of his employment with Lake Refining Company?”

This issue is followed immediately by this definition: “The ‘injuries sustained in the course of his employment’ shall have the following meaning: ‘injuries of every kind and character having to do with and originating in the work, business, trade or profession of an employer received by an employee while engaged in or about the furtherance of the affairs or business of an employer while on the premises of said employer or elsewhere.’ ”

Defendant in error objects to the consideration of the exceptions to the court’s main charge directed at special issues No. 1 and No. 2, for the reason that the objections and exceptions were general and abstract in their nature and were insufficient to apprise the court of the particular error and enable him to correct his charge in the particulars pointed out.

Plaintiff in error’s objections and exceptions to special issues No. 1 and No. 2 are:

“The defendant makes the following exceptions and objections to Special Issue No. 1: .
“(a) Because said issue is upon the weight of the evidence.
“(b) Because said issue is duplicitous.
“(c) Because said issue is not raised by the pleadings.
“(d) Because said issue is too general and does not limit the jury in determining said issue to a consideration of the injuries asserted by' the plaintiff in his claim before the Industrial Accident Board, and to his injuries made the basis of plaintiff’s petition.
“And in this connection the defendant requests the court, in the event he submits this cause to the jury on Special Issues, to inquire of the jury the field as to the specific injury or injuries upon which a claim was made before the Industrial Accident Board and described and relied upon in the plaintiff’s petition.
“The defendant excepts to Special Issue No. 2:
“(a) Because said issue is upon the weight of the evidence.
“(b) Because said issue is not raised by the pleadings.
“(c) Because said issue does not confine the jury or limit them in determining said issue to the injuries asserted by the plaintiff before the Industrial Accident Board, and to the injuries made the basis of the plaintiff’s pleadings.”

We are inclined to agree with the contention of defendant in error. The objections made to these two issues wholly fail, in our opinion, to inform the trial court in what particular respect the submitted issues Nos. 1 and 2 were objectionable to plaintiff in error. The object of exceptions and objections to the court’s charge, as required by article 2185, R.C.S., is to inform the court of the error in his main charge and to give him an opportunity to correct said charge before it is read to the jury. The exceptions and objections above copied could hardly be said to perform this office. An objection and exception to the court’s main charge should distinctly and with particularity inform the trial court of the vice in his main charge and should be constructive and helpful to the court in correcting the main charge. Panhandle & S. F. Ry. v. Brown (Tex.Civ.App.) 74 S.W.2d 531, writ dismissed; Jackson v. Amador (Tex.Civ.App.) 75 S. *156 W.2d 892, writ dismissed; Coffee v. Blair (Tex.Civ.App.) 92 S.W.2d 496, writ dismissed; Abilene & S. Ry. Co. v. Herman (Tex.Civ.App.) 47 S.W.2d 915, writ dismissed; Schaff v. Lynn (Tex.Civ.App.) 238 S.W. 1034; Chase Bag Co. v. Longoria (Tex.Civ.App.) 45 S.W.2d 242, writ dismissed; McWilliams v. Hailey (Tex.Civ.App.) 95 S.W.2d 985, writ dismissed, and authorities there cited; article 2185, R.C.S. While we do not think it is necessary under these exceptions and objections to discuss this point, we shall, however, out of an abundance of caution consider same.

The basis for the contention by plaintiff in.

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Bluebook (online)
110 S.W.2d 153, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1231, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southern-underwriters-v-kelly-texapp-1937.