Stott v. Houston Lighting & Power Co.

453 S.W.2d 364, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 2668
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 25, 1970
DocketNo. 317
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 453 S.W.2d 364 (Stott v. Houston Lighting & Power Co.) 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
Stott v. Houston Lighting & Power Co., 453 S.W.2d 364, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 2668 (Tex. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

SAM D. JOHNSON, Justice.

Thjs is a wrongful death action arising from the death of Sam Stott some 76 days after he was involved in an automobile collision between the taxi which he-was driving and a pick-up truck owned by Houston Lighting and Power Company and operated by its employee, Julius Kolar. Plaintiffs in the trial court were Mrs. Lizzie Stott, widow of the deceased and Mrs. Marie Miley, an adult daughter of the deceased. Plaintiffs perfect this appeal from a take nothing judgment rendered on the jury’s verdict in favor of the defendant, Houston Lighting & Power Company.

The collision made the basis of this suit occurred in Freeport, Texas on September 17, 1965. The defendant’s pick-up truck, driven by Julius Kolar was proceeding north on Pecan Street. At the intersection of Pecan Street and Broad Street there is a yield right-of-way sign in favor of traffic on Broad Street. Broad Street had no traffic control signs or signals at this intersection. Kolar stopped his pick-up truck in response to the yield sign on Pecan Street. Kolar looked to his right and saw the taxi a block and one-half down Broad Street. Kolar made a judgment that there was sufficient time to go through the intersection which he then started to do. Kolar proceeded into the middle of the intersection where the pick-up truck’s motor died and the truck was brought to a complete stop for five to ten seconds. While the truck was moved forward another five room for a car to pass in front of it. The pick-up truck motor then started, the truck accelerated at a “pretty good” speed and the truck was moved foward another five to eight feet in the intersection when the collision occurred. The taxi driven by Sam Stott struck the right rear part of defendant’s pick-up truck with sufficient force to turn it 180 degrees to a position facing the direction from which it had come.

Mr. Stott was treated by Dr. W. D. Nicholson, about 30 minutes following the accident. There were no external marks on Mr. Stott indicating injury from the accident but Mr. Stott appeared to be suffering pain in his chest and neck. Subsequent examination by Dr. Nicholson included an electrocardiogram which indicated Mr. Stott had at some prior time suffered a heart attack. Although Dr. Nicholson was fearful that Mr. Stott might be having a heart attack when he first saw him on September 17 and that he might have a heart attack at a later date, the doctor testified that no objective evidence was found which indicated that Mr. Stott actually suffered a heart attack on September 17. Dr. Nicholson informed Stott of his heart condition and advised him to see his regular doctor concerning it.

On October 12, 1965, Mr. Stott saw Dr. A. E. Minyard, an orthopedic specialist to whom he was referred by the plaintiff’s attorney. Dr. Minyard discovered a compression fracture in Mr. Stott’s neck vertebrae which he testified had been caused by the collision of September 17th. This compression fracture, although it did not interfere greatly with Mr. Stott’s motor activity, was the cause of pain in the patient’s neck and shoulders according to the medical opinion of Dr. Minyard. The drug In-docin was prescribed for Mr. Stott. Later, because the Indocin was not being tolerated too well, Dr. Minyard substituted the drug Librium for the Indocin. It is noted that the medical testimony in .the record indicates that the drug Indocin is seldom used by persons with stomach ulcers due to the possibility of the drug causing internal bleeding. Mr. Stott was known to have had trouble with stomach ulcers.

On November 28, 1965, Mr. Stott, complaining of pain in the chest, saw Dr. Sears. It was Dr. Sears who treated Mr. Stott for the next four days and who, as the attending physician, listed “perforated ulser” (sic) as the cause of Mr. Stott’s death on December 2, 1965. No autopsy was performed on Mr. Stott. The only [366]*366other medical testimony offered was that of Dr. Gene Burke, who reviewed Mr. Stott’s medical history sometime after his death but prior to the trial. Dr. Burke testified that from the history before him that it was his medical opinion that Mr. Stott died of heart failure in part caused by the accident of September 17,1965.

The case was submitted to the jury on special issues, the answers to which are summarized as follows: (a) Julius Kolar was not negligent in proceeding into the intersection at a time when such movement could not have been made safely, (b) Ko-lar did not make an improper (negligent) application of his brakes prior to the collision. (c) Kolar did not fail to yield the right of way to approaching traffic by entering into the intersection when approaching traffic was so close as to- constitute an immediate hazard, (d) The Houston Power & Light Company gave Kolar a vehicle which had a susceptibility of dying. Such susceptibility was known or should have been known to the defendant. This act of entrustment was negligent and a proximate cause of the collision, (e) The collision was not the result of an unavoidable accident. (f) Sam Stott failed to yield the right of way to a vehicle legally in the intersection. This act was negligent and a proximate cause of the collision, (g) Stott failed to keep a proper lookout. This was negligence and a proximate cause of the collision, (h) Stott was not driving at a negligent rate of speed prior to the collision. (i) Stott suffered damage totaling $5,000. (j) The accident contributed to cause the death of Stott, (k) Mrs. Stott sustained a pecuniary loss of $20,000 due to the death of her husband. (1) Mrs. Miley, the daughter of Sam Stott, suffered no pecuniary loss due to the death of her father.

Plaintiffs’ first five points of error are directed to the jury’s finding that Stott failed to yield the right of way and failed to keep a proper lookout. Plaintiffs attack these findings as being “so against the great weight and overwhelming preponderance of the evidence as to be clearly wrong and unjust.” When jury findings are challenged in such a manner it is the duty of the appellate court to examine the record as a whole considering all the evidence relevant to the findings so attacked. Fisher Construction Co. v. Riggs, 160 Tex. 23, 325 S.W.2d 126 (Tex.1959); Continental Bus System, Inc. v. Biggers, Tex.Civ.App., 322 S.W.2d 1, writ ref., n.r.e.

The record reflects that Stott’s car was between a block and a block and a half away from the intersection at the time defendant’s truck entered the intersection. There was nothing between the two vehicles to obscure either party’s vision. Since Stott was found not to be proceeding at a negligent rate of speed (a finding that plaintiffs would scarcely wish to attack) the jury was justified in finding that there was sufficient time and distance during which Stott could and should have acted to avoid the collision. Stott’s failure to so act is reflected by the complained of jury findings. There was testimony by Kolar that Stott neither slowed down nor attempted to alter his course during the time defendant’s truck was stalled. This testimony finds corroboration in the fact that the only evidence of plaintiff attempt to avoid a collision was skid marks that began 39 feet from the point of impact and in the fact that Stott’s vehicle still had enough momentum upon impact to impel defendant’s truck 180 degrees pointing the truck in the direction from which it had come. These two tangible, physical facts support the jury’s findings in this regard.

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Bluebook (online)
453 S.W.2d 364, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 2668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stott-v-houston-lighting-power-co-texapp-1970.