Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. McGehee

75 S.W.2d 123
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 24, 1934
DocketNo. 4163.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 75 S.W.2d 123 (Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. McGehee) 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. McGehee, 75 S.W.2d 123 (Tex. Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

HALL, Chief Justice.

Scott McGehee sued the Texas Employers’ Insurance Association to recover compensation claimed to be due him pursuant to allegations which, in substance, are that on or about December 16, 1929, while working as general manager and operator of a gin in the employ of R. E. Patterson, doing business as Patterson & McGehee Gin Company in Floyd county, Tex., and while so working at the press, in some way his right arm was ..caught in the rollers and injured in various particulars, after which the injured member became infected and plaintiff was confined in *124 the hospital for a period of about 5½ months, being in a serious and dangerous condition part of the time, and, as the result of said injuries and infection, plaintiff has permanently and totally lost the use of said arm. He also asserts a claim for certain medical, hospital, and incidental expenses aggregating about $1,700 and his prayer is for judgment for compensation due at the maximum rate of $20 per week for 200 weeks on account of his total and permanent injuries and the loss of the use of his arm, and further prays for judgment for the items of medical and hospital expenses. He admitted his failure to file his claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board within 6 months from the date of his injury, and as excuse alleged that, immediately following his injury, his arm became severely infected and his physical condition was such that for a period of five and a half months he was confined in the hospital; that as¡ soon as he recovered physically to such an extent that he was able to leave the hospital he at once discussed with his employer, R. E. Patterson, whether or not the defendant was going to acknowledge liability and pay compensation, and was informed by Patterson that the defendant was denying liability and did not intend to make any payment of compensation or defray any expenses, whereupon he at once secured the services of counsel now representing him to collect the compensation due him and the expenses which he had been forced to incur; that he was not familiar with the terms, provisions, and conditions of the Workmen’s Compensation Law, and did not know that it was necessary for him to file a claim with the board, but relied upon his attorneys to do all things necessary to protect his interest; that he employed said attorneys about June 6, 1930, and if his claim was not presented within a period of 6 months, it is due to the fact that he was physically unable to present a claim for approximately 6 months; that he then took such steps as he thought necessary to protect his interest as soon as he was able after the injury to do so; that his claim was thereafter filed with the board.

The defendant answered by a general demurrer, several special exceptions, general denial, and a special verified denial, that any policy of compensation was issued by defendant or was outstanding insuring the plaintiff’s alleged employer at the time of plaintiff’s injury. Also a special plea that the plaintiff was a partner in the business conducted in the name of Patterson & McGehee Gin Company, which operated the gin where plaintiff was injured; that the plaintiff failed to file any claim for compensation with the board within 6 months after the date of his injury, filing said claim for the first time in the month of August, 1931, and had no good cause for such delay or, if he ever had any good cause for a time, it ceased to exist long before the time when plaintiff finally filed his claim for compensation with the board. It further specially pleaded that plaintiff’s original petition filed at the time the suit was instituted contained no claim for various alleged medical, hospital, and other incidental expenses set out in plaintiff’s amended petition, claim for which was first made at the time said amended petition was filed on the 3d day of November, 1932, which was more than 20 days after the date of the final ruling and decision of the Industrial Accident Board upon plaintiff’s claim and more than 20 days after plaintiff served notice of his intention to appeal from said ruling and decision of the board. Wherefore the plaintiff’s claim is barred on that account.

In response to special issues, the jury returned a verdict favorable to plaintiff upon every issue, and, based thereon, the court rendered judgment in plaintiff’s favor in the sum of $4808, which included the aggregate compensation and all medical and hospital expenses.

By its first proposition the appellant association insists that, because the policy had been issued to Patterson & McGehee, described as a partnership composed of R. E. Patterson and the plaintiff, McGehee, and because when the policy was issued the company understood that the insured was a firm composed of said two members, and still had said understanding at the time of the injuries, it appears that there' was no outstanding policy of compensation insurance under which plaintiff could make any valid or lawful claim, and, that being the case, the court efred in not directing a verdict in its favor.

In support of its contention, amongst other eases, the appellant cites the ease of Berger v. Fidelity Union Casualty Co. (Tex. Civ. App.) 293 S. W. 235. In that case the surviving wife of O. J. Berger alleged that he was an employee of a copartnership composed of Lee Farrer and F. Kiber; that, though the policy recites that the assured is a copartnership composed of O. J. Berger, Lee Farrer, and F. Kiber, such recital is erroneous, in that as a fact Berger was not at the time of the execution of the policy nor at the time of his death a member of said copartnership, and that her husband’s name was erroneously written into the policy by mutual mistake *125 of the parties to the contract. In its answer the defendant alleged that Berger had led it to believe by his representations that he was a member of the copartnership, and ■by reason of such representations the defendant did not demand nor collect any premiums for risk or injury to the said Berger as it would have done if Berger had been an employee, that defendant had no means of knowing the status of Berger was other than he represented himself to be, and was induced to its prejudice to issue the contract sued on and to leave the same in force inuring to the benefit of Berger as an insured employee under the liability act, and that by reason thereof plaintiffs were estopped from denying that the said Berger was other than a member of said copartnership. A trial resulted in a judgment for the casualty company et al. The court concluded that the evidence sustained the finding that Berger was a partner and held that he was therefore not entitled to recover.

In the instant case the appellant does not plead any facts relative to the issuance of the policy in the name of the partnership which amount to an estoppel. The facts upon which appellant bases its claim that McGehee was a partner are, in effect, the same as the facts in Millers’ Indemnity Underwriters v. Patten (Tex. Com. App.) 250 S. W. 154; Id. (Tex. Civ. App.) 238 S. W. 240. The record shows that Patterson, without the knowledge of McGehee, procured the issuance of the policy in the name of the firm. The evidence discloses that McGehee was not a partner, but had entered into a contract with Patterson whereby he might acquire an interest and become a partner upon certain conditions. As in the Patten Case, these conditions were never fulfilled.

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Bluebook (online)
75 S.W.2d 123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employers-ins-assn-v-mcgehee-texapp-1934.