Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Scott

233 S.W.2d 171, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1596
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 10, 1950
Docket6067
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 233 S.W.2d 171 (Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Scott) 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. Scott, 233 S.W.2d 171, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1596 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

LUMPKIN, Justice.

This is a workmen’s compensation case. The appellee, W. Mac Scott, was the employee. The appellant, Texas Employers’ Insurance Association, was the compensation insurance carrier, and The Shamrock Oil & Gas Corporation was the employer. The appellee filed this suit against the appellant as an appeal from an adverse award of the Industrial Accident Board.

On January 2, 1949, the appellee was assisting in repairing an engine located on his employer’s property. An explosion occurred which threw the appellee to the ground. From this explosion the appellee *173 alleged that he had received injuries of a total and permanent nature. In this suit the appellee seeks to recover compensation for total and permanent disability.

Trial was to a jury. In answer to the special issues submitted, the jury found that on January 2, 1949, while in the course of his employment with The Shamrock Oil & Gas Corporation, the appellee sustained injuries to his head and that these injuries have incapacitated him totally and permanently. The trial court, pursuant to the jury’s verdict, entered judgment against the appellant for 401 weeks of compensation at the rate of $25 per week. From this judgment the appellant has regularly prosecuted its appeal. The appellant assails the jury’s finding of total and permanent incapacity on two grounds: (1) That the jury’s finding has no support in the evidence; (2) that the jury’s finding is insufficiently supported by the evidence.

The appellee alleged that as a result of the explosion he suffered severe and excruciating burns to the upper part of his body, head, neck and face; that as a result of a heavy blow to the head he suffered either a fracture of the skull or a concussion of the brain. There is no question that an explosion did occur and that the appellee did suffer burns as a result of it; however, the question of whether appellee suffered a concussion of the brain is sharply contested by the appellant’s medical witnesses.

Reviewing the evidence, as we must, from the standpoint of the prevailing party, we find the following facts: As a result of the explosion, the appellee received burns to his face, eyes and ears; he remained in the hospital for fourteen days. The rims of the appellee’s ears were burned off, and at the time of the trial his ears were tender. He has trouble shaving, and exposure to the wind or sun blisters his face. As to his eyes he testified: “Well, it — seemed to have a skin over my eyes and I can’t read hardly at all; I start reading and they water and when I am out in the wind, well, they water all the time.” He stated that he couldn’t hear as well as he could before the explosion and that he was bothered by a roaring sensation in his head. Concerning the injury to his head, the appellee testified: “Well, I have severe headaches and I have dizzy spells nearly all the time and I have a roaring in my head and my eyes bother me and I am nervous, upset all the time.” He testified that he was unable to work because, “Well, these headaches, nervousness, and I can’t sleep at night hardly at all.’1’ The appellee’s memory is bad and his physicians have prescribed medicine for his headache.

Several fellow workmen testified that since the explosion the appellee had been high-strung, nervous, and that any sudden noise, such as the report from an explosion, appears to upset him. They spoke of the ap-pellee sitting around in a dazed condition. The appellee, however, had remained on the job most of the time since the explosion. The witness Wurz testified as to the appel-lee’s nervousness: He stated there were some jobs that he would not allow the appel-lee to do because it would be too easy for the appellee to injure himself; that he did not consider it safe to work with a man as nervous as the appellee.

Dr. Róyse, the appellee’s medical witness, testified: “In my opinion, he has some in-tracranial injury, or what we call a concussion to the brain.” Dr. Royse testified that he could see no improvement in the appellee’s condition, that he did not know when the appellee would be a normal man again, and that the appellee was not able to obtain and retain employment.

The appellant objected to the last portion of Dr. Royse’s testimony, i. e., “that the appellee is not able to obtain and retain employment,” for the reason that the statement invades the province of the jury and attempts to answer the ultimate question which the jury must determine. In our opinion Dr. Royse’s statement was admissible. Where the point to be determined may be as accurately decided by the jury as by an expert, and where no scientific knowledge is necessary to arrive at a conclusion based upon certain facts, an expert witness may not express his opinion as to the ultimate conclusion. But, generally, the courts make no distinction between evidential and ultimate facts subject to an expert’s opinion. Adamson v. Burgle, Tex. *174 Civ.App., 186 S.W.2d 388, ref. w. m.; 20 Am.Jur. 653, et seq. Under this broad, general rule, Dr. Royse’s opinion on even an ultimate question would be admissible. But,be that as it may, in our opinion, Dr. Royse’s statement must be interpreted in connection with his entire testimony. He testified that he did not know when the appellee would be a normal man again. So, when Dr. Royse stated that the appellee was unable to obtain and retain employment, his statement was, in part, a physician’s prognosis as to the length of time the appellee would suffer from his injuries.

Our courts have often upheld jury findings of total and permanent disability based on the claimant’s testimony alone. Texas Employers’ Ins. Ass’n v. Scott, Tex.Civ.App., 46 S.W.2d 348, writ refused; Traders & General Ins. Co. v. Diebel, Tex.Civ.App., 188 S.W.2d 411, writ refused; 45 Tex.Jur. 592. The extent and duration of the appellee’s disability were undoubtedly questions to be determined by the jury. Under the appellee’s testimony, as well as under Dr. Royse’s statement, we cannot say that the jury’s findings of total and permanent disability are so preponderantly against the great weight of the evidence as to be clearly erroneous. Federal Underwriters Exchange v. Green, Tex.Civ.App., 150 S.W.2d 98, dism. judgment cor.; Traders & General Ins. Co., v. Rischer, Tex.Civ.App., 210 S.W.2d 652, ref. n. r. e.

The appellant contends the court erred in not granting a new trial because of the improper argument of counsel for appellee. The appellant classifies the allegedly improper argument under three headings: Unsworn testimony by appellee’s counsel; prejudicial criticism of appellant and its counsel; an invitation to the jury to reach its verdict by guess.

The appellant asserts that several portions of the argument made by counsel for the appellee amount to presenting un-sworn testimony to the jury.

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233 S.W.2d 171, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employers-ins-assn-v-scott-texapp-1950.