Texas Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Watson

207 S.W.2d 99, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 821
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided December 11, 1947·No. No. 11932·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

MONTEITH, Chief Justice.

This workmen’s compensation suit was brought by appellee, Alvin F. Watson, to set aside an award of the Industrial Accident Board denying compensation for injuries alleged to have been sustained toy him in the course of his employment with Stan-olind Oil & Gas Company, who carried compensation insurance with appellant, Texas Indemnity Insurance Company.

In answer to special issues submitted, a jury found, in substance, that appellee was [100]*100injured as alleged on May 30, 1945, while employed by Stanolind Oil & Gas Company; that such injury was total and permanent and that appellee was entitled to a lump sum payment. They found that good cause existed for plaintiff’s failure to file a claim for compensation with the Industrial Accident Board within six months from the date of injury as required by law. Pursuant to such findings the court entered judgment for appellee for $7,246.73, with interest, and costs.

The court overruled appellant’s motion for an instructed verdict and for judgment non obstante veredicto on the ground that appellee had failed to show good cause for failure to file his claim for compensation with the Board within the six months period required by Art. 8307, Section 4a, Revised Civil Statutes, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art. 8307, § 4a.

Appellant has based its appeal in this case on 2 major points:

(1) The judgment of the trial court should be reversed and rendered because of plaintiff’s failure to file his claim with the Board within six months, or to show good cause for not doing so;

(2) The judgment of the trial court should be reversed and remanded because of the misconduct of a member of the jury.

The record shows that appellee, Alvin F. Watson, began his employment with the Stanolind Oil & Gas Company as a driller’s helper on a seismograph crew in Houston County, Texas. He alleged, that while digging a pit for the placing of shots, on May 30, 1945, he suffered a heat stroke which caused complete and permanent disability. In his original petition, filed on June 27, 1946, appellee alleged that he filed his claim with the Industrial Accident Board within six months after the date of his injury. In its original answer, filed on July 18, 1946, appellant denied under oath that the appellee had filed his notice of injury and claim for compensation as required by Section 4a, Article 8307, Vernon’s Ann.Civ. Statutes. On September 9, 1946, appellee filed an amended pleading in which he alleged that continuously since the date of his injury he had been both mentally and physically incapacitated from the transaction of any business, and that he had lacked the power of concentration, memory and capacity to collect himself for the purpose of performing any act, including the giving of notice of his injury and the filing of his claim for compensation, as a basis for proof that he had "good cause” for not filing such notice and claim. On May 26, 1945, the day before the cause was called for trial, appellant filed its amended answer, duly verified, denying under oath that plaintiff had filed a notice of injury and claim for compensation as required by said Section 4a of said Art. 8307.

Section 4a of Art. 8307, Vernon’s Ann. Civ.Statutes provides that no proceeding for compensation for injury under the Workmen’s Compensation Act shall be maintained unless a claim for compensation with respect to such injury shall have been made within six months after the occurrence of the injuries, but that “For good cause the board may, in meritorious cases, waive the strict compliance with the foregoing limitations as to * * * filing the claim before the board.”

By counterpoint appellee contends that the verification attached of appellant’s amended answer did not constitute the required denial under oath that appellee had failed to file his notice of- injury and claim for compensation.

No exception to the alleged defect in the verification of appellant’s answer was filed by appellee, nor did he by motion or otherwise call the alleged defect to the attention of the trial court at any time during the trial of the cause.

The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Nos. 67 and 90, have greatly strengthened the common law rule of waiver.

Said Rule 67 reads: “When issues not raised by the pleadings are tried by express or implied consent of the parties, they shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings * * Said Rule 90 reads: “ * * * Every defect, omission or fault in a pleading either of form or of substance, which is not specifically pointed out by motion or exception in writing and brought to the attention of the Judge in the trial court before the instruction or charge to the jury or, in a non-jury [101]*101ca.se, before the rendition of judgment, shall be deemed to have been waived * * *

In the case of Bednarz v. State, 142 Tex. 138, 176 S.W.2d 562, the Supreme Court in its opinion said: “It appears to be a well-established rule that where a case has been tried without objection upon the theory that the answer of the defendant was sufficient to join issues on the facts which were contested upon the trial, an objection that it was insufficient for that purpose cannot be made for the first time in the appellate court.”

In the case of Tew v. Griffith, Tex.Civ.App., 187 S.W.2d 408, this Court in construing said Rules 67 and 90, held that the omission of a pleading complained of must be treated as having been waived, where no objections were urged thereto.

In the case of Texas Osage Co-op. Royalty Pool et al. v. Kemper, Tex.Civ.App., 170 S.W.2d 849, writ refused, this court, under a state of facts almost identical with the facts in the instant case, held that under Rule 93, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the sufficiency of an affidavit verifying a pleading cannot be questioned for the first time on appeal, the fact that the pleading has not been verified, or that the affidavit by which it is verified is waived and the pleading is a sufficient basis for the admission of evidence in support thereof where no exception has been urged thereto.

Under these authorities appellee’s contention must be overruled.

The injury on which this action is based was alleged to have occurred on May 30, 1945. Appellee filed his claim with the Industrial Accident Board on March 15, 1946, nine and a half months later.

The controlling question presented in the appeal is whether the evidence adduced on the trial of the case supports the finding of the jury that appellee showed good cause for failing to file his claim with the Board within the 6 months period provided under said Article 8307, Section 4a.

The facts supporting appellee’s contention upon this issue of good cause are largely supported by his testimony bearing on his mental condition following the alleged heat stroke on May 30, 1945.

He testified that he received the heat stroke at 10:30 a. m.

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Texas Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Watson, 207 S.W.2d 99, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 821 (Tex. Ct. App. 1947).

207 S.W.2d 99 (Texas Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Watson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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