TEXAS EMPLOYERS'INSURANCE ASSOCIATION v. Charles

381 S.W.2d 664, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2755
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 11, 1964
Docket7576
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 381 S.W.2d 664 (TEXAS EMPLOYERS'INSURANCE ASSOCIATION v. Charles) 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'INSURANCE ASSOCIATION v. Charles, 381 S.W.2d 664, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2755 (Tex. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinion

CHADICK, Chief Justice.

This is a workman’s compensation case. The injured workman was awarded a total of $6875.36 in compensation for temporary total disability and permanent partial disability produced by an accidental injury received in the course of employment as a stevedore. The judgment of the trial court Is affirmed.

FIRST GROUP
“POINT OF ERROR NO. ONE. That the trial court erred in submitting special issues number thirty-one and thirty-two inquiring as to whether or not there was not one or more employees of the same class as the plaintiff working at least two hundred ten days in the year immediately preceding the date of Plaintiff’s injury, (Special Issue No. 31) ; and, in the event that the jury found that there was not such another employee, then inquiring as to a fair and just average weekly wage of the plaintiff (Special Issue No. 32) for the reason that there was no evidence to support a finding to Special Issue 31 to the effect that there was not such another employee, or, in any event, the evidence was entirely insufficient to support such a finding and without such a finding in answer to Special Issue No. 31, plaintiff was not entitled to a submission of Special Issue No. 32.
“POINT OF ERROR NO. TWO. That the trial court erred in overruling Defendant’s objections to the said Special Issues No. 31 and 32.”

The only evidence offered was that produced by the workman-plaintiff. The workman had been employed slightly more than two months by his employer at the time of injury on December 16, 1958, although he had worked for the same employer as a stevedore for some time in 1942 or 1943. Immediately preceding the employment engaged in at the time of injury he had been some four months in the service of a different employer. The greater part of his life had been spent as a resident of the area, Port Arthur, where he was working when injured.

While under the interrogation of his counsel he was asked if he had checked with friends and acquaintances to ascertain whether or not a stevedore in that area, performing work similar to that he was doing when injured, had worked as much as 210 *666 days in the year preceding the date of injury. He answered, “I checked, but I didn’t find anybody”. He also said the persons he talked to did not work 210 days during the period inquired about, and that he did not know or hear of anyone employed in that time period for that number of days. The chief accountant for his employer testified that none of the employees, doing work similar to that of this workman, were on the job as much as 210 days during the year preceding injury.

Only slight evidence is required to sustain the jury’s verdict upon the two issues submitted. Texas Employers’ Insurance Association v. English, 368 S.W.2d 120, Ct.Civ.App.1963, writ ref., n. r. e.; St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company v. Jackman, 331 S.W.2d 253, Tex.Civ.App.1960, writ ref., n. r. e.; I. C. T. Insurance Company v. Wineman, 308 S.W.2d 549, Tex.Civ.App.1957, writ ref., n. r. e.; Transport Insurance Co. v. Co ssaboon, 291 S.W.2d 746, Tex.Civ.App.1956, writ ref., n. r. e. The workman’s connection with the industry, his long residence in the area, and probable familiarity with workmen following the longshoremen’s vocation, in the absence of a motive for failure would warrant the jury in giving weight and credence to his testimony that there was no other workman of the same class in the area who had worked in similar employment 210 days in the year preceding the date of injury. This evidence is superficial, still there is no other evidence tending to refute or discount it. Under the circumstances, it is sufficient to support the jury’s findings. A very recent case having a similar factual basis is Travelers’ Insurance Company v. Marmolego, 374 S.W.2d 280, Ct.Civ.App.1963; see also Southern Underwriters v. Boswell, 141 S.W.2d 442, Ct.Civ.App.1950; American General Ins. Co. v. Hightower, 279 S.W.2d 397, Ct.Civ.App.1955, writ ref., n. r. e.

SECOND GROUP
“POINT OF ERROR NUMBER THREE. The trial court erred in including in the submission of Special Issue No. 6, which issue inquired as to the duration of any total loss of the use of plaintiff’s left leg, the instruction to ‘answer by giving the number of weeks, not exceeding two hundred weeks’, for the reason that by so doing, the court informed the jury of the effect of their verdict of the judgment to be rendered by the court.
“POINT OF ERROR NUMBER FOUR. That the trial court erred in overruling Defendant’s objections to the submission of the said Special Issue No. 6.
“POINT OF ERROR NUMBER FIVE. That the trial court erred in the submission of special issue No. 10, which inquired as to the duration of any partial loss of the use of plaintiff’s left leg, the instruction to ‘Answer by giving the number of weeks, not exceeding two hundred weeks’, for the reason that by so doing the court informed the jury of the effect of their verdict on the judgment to be rendered by the court.
“POINT OF ERROR NUMBER SIX. That the trial court erred in overruling defendant’s objections to the submission of Special Issue No. 10.”

The appellant’s argument is skilfully summarized in this extract from its brief, to-wit:

“It is the position of the Appellant that the instruction complained of had the effect of explaining or advising the jury that the effect of a finding on their part that the plaintiff’s disability was limited to the leg would result in a judgment of a recovery of not more than two hundred (200) weeks compensation. Whereas, since no such limitation was placed upon the answer to the question relating to general disability, the jury would know that by answering affirmatively that the plaintiff had sustained general disability that he would receive more than two hundred *667 (200) weeks compensation benefits. This is particularly true inasmuch as the plaintiff had read his pleadings to the jury wherein it was alleged that he was seeking to recover four hundred one (401) weeks compensation benefits for total permanent disability.”

Unquestionably the jury should not be purposely informed of the legal consequences of their answers to special issues submitted to them. McFaddin v. Hebert, 118 Tex. 314, 15 S.W.2d 213; Ex parte Fisher, 146 Tex. 328, 206 S.W.2d 1000; Robinson v. Lovell, Tex.Civ.App., 238 S.W.2d 294; Sisk v.

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381 S.W.2d 664, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2755, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employersinsurance-association-v-charles-texapp-1964.