Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Phillips

109 S.W.2d 1088, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1187
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 4, 1937
DocketNo. 2723.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 109 S.W.2d 1088 (Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Phillips) 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. Phillips, 109 S.W.2d 1088, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1187 (Tex. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

WALKER, Chief Justice.

The nature of this suit was fully stated by the Commission of Appeals in its opinion, Texas Employers Insurance Association v. Mrs. Kate Phillips et al., 107 S.W.(2d) 991, answering a certificate from this court. On the answers to our certificate, appellees can recover only for 102 weeks at $10.90 per week, running from the date of Jim Phillips’ injury, 10th day of October, 1930, to his death on the 30th day of Septemeber, 1932, with interest at 6 per cent, per annum from the respective '•maturity dates of the weekly payments.

The Commission of Appeals referred to the Thibodeaux Case (Texas Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Thibodeaux) (Tex.Com.App.) 106 S.W.(2d) 268, for its answer to our third question; an affirmative answer to that question would operate to reverse the judgment of the lower court only in the event that “partial disability” was raised by the evidence. Traders & General Insurance Company v. Babb (Tex.Civ.App.) 83 S.W.(2d) 778; Traders & General Insurance Company v. Shanks (Tex.Civ.App.) 83 S.W.(2d) 781; Southern Underwriters v. Stubblefield (Tex.Civ.App.) 108 S.W.(2d) 557; Federal Underwriters Exchange v. J. L. Wheeler (Tex.Civ.App.) 108 S.W.(2d) 922.

In the entire statement of facts there is not one scintilla of evidence raising the issue of partial disability. On that issue, appellees offered 18 witnesses — some of them were related to the deceased but most of them were neighbors and friends who had known him for many years. Under all this testimony, Jim Phillips was an able-bodied man prior to his injury on the 10th day of October, 1930; after his injury he was not physically able to do even one day’s work. These witnesses saw him many times from the date of his injury to the date of his death and could not have been mistaken as to his physical condition. We give the testimony of two doctors offered by'appellees. Dr. George H. Turner, a graduate in medicine who had practiced his profession for more than 42 years, testified:

*1089 “Q. Were you, in 1930, doing the medical work for the Garrison Brick and Tile Company? A. I did not do it all myself, but I worked for them from time to time.
“Q. During that time, in October some time, were you called on to treat Jim Phillips — -asked to treat him? A. Yes, sir. He called at my office; they brought'him to my office — Mr. Weatherford did.
“Q. Do you remember the date? A. I think it was either the 10th or 11th or 12th; I would not be positive.
“Q. Now, tell the first time you saw him, and how you treated him; what you found from your diagnosis, and how you treated him; I just want in your own words to give to the jury, and what was the result? A. It was either the 10th or the 11th he came to my office complaining of his hip hurting him. I did not make any real close examination of the fellow; we have so many of them come in if they get bruised, and I suggested liniment. I told him to make a local application of that and the chances are it would help him; and about the third day, as well as I recall, he came back again and said it was hurting him, and I carried him in my office and examined him in the office. I stripped him off and made a thorough physical examination, and I found his hip muscles tender; that is, he said they were tender; that is a symptom and evidence as to tenderness that I had to take his word, but his muscles were swollen, and I began a muscular treatment, as well as I recall, with a normal salt solution, with a needle about three inches long, up as close as I could where he complained he was injured; and I kept that up and he did not get any better, and I changed my treatment to sodium iodide. I think all of this treatment possibly was changed after I sent him up to Dr. Tucker. He was not getting along as well as I would have liked for him to get along, and I suggested that he see another doctor, and I sent him to Dr. Tucker, and he came down, and Dr. Tucker wrote me that he would continue that treatment — that he thought that treatment was about as good as he could do, and suggested that we keep the treatment up a while, and I treated him a while longer, and he didn’t get any better, and I suggested that he come to Dr. Nelson and have a picture made of his hip and see if it revealed anything there that would help us out as far as the treatment was concerned; and Dr. Nelson sent him back and told him that he was on about as good a treatment as he thought he could be on, and I treated him a while longer; and then I put him on another — a deep intramuscular injection of oil of camphor, and treated him I suppose for two or three months — I don’t know exactly the date— and he didn’t get any better, and I told him, ‘Jim, I have done all for you that I can; you had better see some one else. I don’t know anything further that can be done for you.’
“Q. What did you mean by that — by what you told him — that you had done all you could for him? A. Well, I had just went my limit. My medical skill could not show -me a treatment that would' justify me in giving any further treatment, when I didn’t get any result.
“Q. In other words, you had done all you could do? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. His injury would be, what you call it? Produce what you men call when you get when you get hurt, or make a bruise or something — traumatic ? A. Trauma — a bruise is a trauma.
“Q. You examined him in the region of his hip? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Had you known him before you examined him? A. I had known him for thirty-five years.
“Q. Did you ever know him to have a limp at any time? A. I did not.
“Q. After viewing him as you did, treating him and telling him that you had done all you could over that period of time, what would you say as to his injury being permanent and total ? A. The way I would class his as being totally disabled, according to his work.
“Q. He had been a man that had done all heavy work; could he, after that injury, continue to do that work? A. No, sir; he could not.
“Q. What would be the result of this injury in there on his person, as to whether shifting from one side to another would have a tendency to relieve it as Jim would do that? A. Every time he would move it would make pressure on that muscle and it would hurt him.
“Q. But what is the' result in sitting in one place and those things? For instance, you take this sitting here, now, that Jim would move about and change in his chair; what would be the cause of that? A. Well, it would be an impingement, I suppose you would call that, tech *1090 nically;. a pinching of that nerve is what it means.
“Q. An impingement means a pinching of the nerve?' A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Moving • about, would that have a tendency to relieve that pressure? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. If he had that since, what would be the probability or likelihood of his recovery over a period, or would it be lasting ? A. Lasting.”
Dr. W. H.

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109 S.W.2d 1088, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employers-ins-assn-v-phillips-texapp-1937.