Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Allgood

252 S.W.2d 589, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 1783
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 24, 1952
DocketNo. 15376
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 252 S.W.2d 589 (Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Allgood) 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
Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Allgood, 252 S.W.2d 589, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 1783 (Tex. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

HALL, Chief Justice.

This workmen’s compensation case was instituted in the 89th District Court of Wichita County by appellee, Manley All-good, against appellant, Texas Employers’ Insurance Association. Judgment was rendered for appellee based on jury answers to special issues submitted, awarding compensation for total and permanent disability, recoverable in a lump sum.

Appellant’s appeal consists of five points. Point one is:

“The error of the trial court in refusing to admit in evidence the plaintiff’s testimony as to what sums of money he received for his services from his employers.”

Appellant did not introduce evidence to controvert appellee’s claim for total and permanent disability.

Appellant recognizes the rule to be, as pointed out in the case of American Employers’ Insurance Co. v. Singleton, Tex. Com.App., opinion approved, 24 S.W.2d 26, while proving wage rate of an employee under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, Article 8309, Sec. 1, subsections 1, 2 and 3, R.C.S., Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art. 8309, § 1, subds. 1-3, that the burden of proof is on the claimant to establish by competent evidence that it is impracticable to compute the average weekly wage under either subsection 1 or 2 before subsection 3 can be resorted to. The claimant also has the burden to show that compensation cannot be computed under subsection 1 before subsection 2 is resorted to. Traders & General Insurance Co. v. Collins, 179 S.W.2d 525, writ refused.

The trial court submitted the case under subsection 2 because it was admitted by appellee, and uncontroverted by appellant, that he had not done similar work substantially whole of the year preceding his injury.

Appellee introduced in evidence the testimony of one Sargent, a disinterested witness, who testified on the question of whether or not the position on which he worked during the whole year preceding appellee’s injury was the same or similar and came under the same class as that of appellee’s. A portion of his testimony bearing on this subject is substantially that he worked without missing a day from August 21, 1950, to August 21, 1951, drawing $175 per month, plus the.use of a five room modern house with a rental value of $40 per month and free water and gas, which he valued at $5 per month. Upon special issues submitted to the jury, it found the average weekly wage of the witness Sargent to be $41.82.

In answer to Special Issue No. 20, the jury found that the witness Sargent was [591]*591doing the same class of work as that of ap-pellee at the time appellee received his accidental injury. The testimony of both appellee and witness Sargent was to the effect that their work was similar, they both worked about the same amount of hours per day. Both testified they were spending some four or five hours, or about one-half day, on the job and that their jobs were about two and a half miles apart. It was to appellant’s advantage that appellee did not prove what a person doing the same or similar kind of work would receive if he were working the whole of a day for a full year.

The record shows appellee would have testified that he was drawing at the time of his injury $40 per month for about the last three months and $30 per month for the other three months of his employment.

Appellant contends that the difference between wages of appellee and wages of the witness Sargent would be substantial testimony for the jury to consider upon the question of whether or not the work they were doing was the same or similar and of the same class. We find the authorities to be otherwise. A similar situation was before the court in the case of Maryland Casualty Co. v. Stevens, Tex.Civ.App., 55 S.W.2d 149, writ refused. In this kind of situation, wage rate is based upon earning capacity and not on temporary or part-time earnings. Texas Employers Insurance Association v. Clack, 134 Tex. 151, 132 S.W.2d 399; also see Stevens case, supra; Traders & General Insurance Co. v. Snow, Tex.Civ.App., 114 S.W.2d 682, writ dis.

We are not holding that the evidence offered is inadmissible. We are merely holding that it was not reversible error for the trial court to suppress it from the jury under the facts in this case.

Point one is overruled.
Appellant’s points two and three:
“2. The error of the trial court in submitting Special Issue No. 16 of its Charge, inquiring as to whether there was one or more employees of the same class as Plaintiff who worked substantially the whole of the year preceding the date of the Plaintiff’s injury.
“3. The error of the trial court in not submitting an issue inquiring as to what wage rate for the Plaintiff would be fair and just to both parties herein.”

Appellant contends that subsection 3 to Section 1 of Article 8309, supra, should have been submitted to the jury and that evidence of the amount appellee was receiving could be considered by the jury in determining the fair and just amount that should be paid as wages. Appellant did not undertake to controvert the substantial testimony of Sargent, which set the provisions of subsection 2 in motion for submission. It did not place on the witness stand one witness during the whole trial.

We need not hold here, however, that ap-pellee’s uncontroverted testimony was established as a matter of law just because it was elicited from a disinterested witness, as discussed in the case of Associated Indemnity Corporation v. McGrew, 138 Tex. 583, 160 S.W.2d 912. See also Lamar v. Panhandle & S. F. Ry. Co., Tex.Com.App., 248 S.W. 34; Casualty Reciprocal Exchange v. Stephens, Tex.Com.App., 45 S. W.2d 143; Texas Employers’ Insurance Association v. Hierholzer, Tex.Civ.App., 207 S.W.2d 178, writ refused, n. r. e.

As has heretofore been pointed out, plaintiff alleged and proved facts showing subdivision 1 was not applicable and plead and proved that the case came within the provisions of subdivision 2. Plaintiff’s allegations as to subdivision 3 were in the alternative. The trial court’s failure to submit an issue on subdivision 3 is an indication that plaintiff elected to try his case solely upon subdivision 2, which election was his right. It has been held in a case of this kind that if the defendant desired an issue submitted under subdivision 3, it was required to prepare and request its submission. Traders and General Insurance Company v. Yarbrough, Tex. Civ. App., 181 S.W.2d 305, writ ref., w. m., citing many cases.

[592]*592Appellant in the instant case only requested submission of this defensive issue but did not prepare and submit same to the court.

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252 S.W.2d 589, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 1783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employers-ins-assn-v-allgood-texapp-1952.