Texas Workers' Compensation Commission v. Wausau Underwriters Insurance

127 S.W.3d 50, 2003 WL 22208820
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 17, 2003
Docket01-01-00955-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 127 S.W.3d 50 (Texas Workers' Compensation Commission v. Wausau Underwriters Insurance) 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 Workers' Compensation Commission v. Wausau Underwriters Insurance, 127 S.W.3d 50, 2003 WL 22208820 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

[53]*53OPINION

TIM TAFT, Justice.

Appellee, Wausau Underwriters Insurance (Wausau), sought judicial review in the district court of Galveston County, Texas of a decision by intervening appellant, the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission (TWCC),1 awarding appellant, Katherine Kaus (Mrs. Kaus), death benefits for the death of her husband, Thomas Kaus (Mr. Kaus). Wausau sought review of two issues: (1) whether Mr. Kaus’s death was the result of a willful attempt to injure himself (suicide) and (2) whether Mr. Kaus’s death occurred within the course and scope of his employment. At trial, the parties stipulated that, if the jury determined that Mr. Kaus’s death was the result of suicide, his death did not occur within the scope of his employment. The jury determined that Mr. Kaus’s death occurred as a result of suicide. Thus, the trial court entered judgment for Wausau and set aside the TWCC’s award of death benefits to Mrs. Kaus. In an issue of first impression, we address the admissibility of the opinion of an assistant medical examiner that a death was a suicide, as well as of death certificates and autopsy reports containing that opinion, under the Texas Rules of Evidence. We affirm.

Background

Mr. Kaus was employed as a security guard for a 21-story building in downtown Houston. On February 12, 1997, Mr. Kaus was reported missing by a fellow security guard. After employees and police searched the building for several hours, Mr. Kaus’s body was found on a fifth-floor awning. The Houston Police Department conducted a homicide investigation. Police officers questioned employees of the building. There were no witnesses who had seen Mr. Kaus fall to his death. Police were unable to determine from what location Mr. Kaus had fallen. Because of the weather conditions — cold, rain, wind, and lightning — the police did not make a video recording of the roof of the building. The only evidence to support a further homicide investigation was Mr. Kaus’s missing wallet and watch and a “brush burn” on the back of Mr. Kaus’s head.

The personal investigation of assistant medical examiner Dr. Parungao was limited to the autopsy of Mr. Kaus’s body. The autopsy revealed the cause of death as a “crushed chest, abdomen, and pelvis.” Based solely on police and investigator reports, Dr. Parungao determined that Mr. Kaus had committed suicide. The reports that Dr. Parungao reviewed included interviews with Mrs. Kaus and with coworkers of Mr. Kaus. In Mrs. Kaus’s interview, she admitted that Mr. Kaus had been depressed for years and had threatened suicide on several occasions, including sometime about a year before his death. Mr. Kaus’s co-workers spoke of Mr. Kaus’s unhappiness with his marital relationship and of how his unhappiness was aggravated by an extended visit by his mother-in-law, which explained why he had tried to work as many weekends as possible in order to be out of the house. They also spoke of Mr. Kaus’s recent deterioration in appearance and dejection from having lost a lawsuit. They also mentioned that Mr. Kaus was concerned with his financial situation. Based on the investigation’s reports, Dr. Parungao entered on Mr. Kaus’s death certificate and on his autopsy report that the manner of death was “suicide” committed when Mr. Kaus “jumped from height.”

[54]*54Mrs. Kaus applied for workers’ compensation death benefits. Wausau denied the claim on the ground that Mr. Kaus’s death was the result of suicide. Under the insurance policy, death by suicide does not occur within the course and scope of employment. To determine whether Mrs. Kaus was entitled to workers’ compensation death benefits, TWCC held an administrative contested-case hearing. TWCC found that Mr. Kaus’s death was not the result of a willful attempt to injure himself and thus that his death had occurred within the course and scope of his employment. Subsequently, Wausau filed an administrative appeal with TWCC. The TWCC Appeals Panel affirmed the findings from the contested-case hearing. Wausau then challenged that decision by filing a petition for judicial review.

Before trial, Mrs. Kaus and TWCC had requested and received a ruling from the court that excluded all opinions stating the ultimate conclusion that Mr. Kaus had committed suicide. The court further determined that Dr. Parungao was not qualified as an expert on suicide. Therefore, the court required the death certificate and autopsy report, which were prepared by Dr. Parungao, to be redacted to omit the manner of death as “suicide” caused when Mr. Kaus “jumped from height.”

During Wausau’s presentation of the case, Wausau sought to present the deposition testimony of Dr. Conway.2 Mrs. Kaus and TWCC objected to the inclusion of portions of the deposition involving Dr. Conway’s opinions on whether Mr. Kaus committed suicide and on the assistant medical examiner’s findings. The court decided to allow some of the testimony, while excluding the rest.3 In reading from Dr. Conway’s testimony, Wausau included the following:

Wausau: In your recollection, is there anything in that report that — that you thought was inconsistent with suicide, or was it just the whole thing?
Dr. Conway: I — I don’t — I can’t remember what the report says, so I can’t — I can’t answer that very well right now.
Wausau: Okay. Well, if — but you are rendering an opinion here today that it’s highly unlikely that he committed suicide. And you base that upon that report you read; is that correct?
Dr. Conway: No. I based it on knowing him and — and what — I’m sticking to what I said before and — when I had a better recollection of everything going on.

(Emphasis added.)

Wausau continued to ask Dr. Conway about information contained in the assistant medical examiner’s report and that information’s consistency with suicide. After several questions and answers, the deposition continued with this:

Wausau: Okay. If someone were to step off the roof of that building and land on the fifth floor awning, as Mr. Kaus did, what additional observations would you expect that would support a finding of suicide?
Dr. Conway: I have no opinion.
Wausau: No opinion whatsoever?
Dr. Conway: None.
Wausau: So your opinion as to it’s highly unlikely, you’re withdrawing it at this time?
Dr. Conway: No. I have no opinion about the forensic activity. I [55]*55couldn’t — I have — I don’t know whether people tumble or — I have no—
Wausau: Okay.
Dr. Conway: — I have no forensic opinion.
Wausau: Okay. And I’m — I’m—I want to make sure we’re on the same page. So your opinion is based upon your relationship with Mr. Kaus over the period of years?
Dr. Conway: Yes.
Wausau: And it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Medical Examiner’s report or the police officer’s report?
Dr. Conway: No.
Wausau: Okay. And you consider that information to not be relevant to your opinion on whether or not he committed, suicide?
Dr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Atkinson v. Pustilnik
S.D. Texas, 2025
Angel Rose Lee v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Joseph Juan Facundo v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016
David Len Moulton v. State
360 S.W.3d 540 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)
In Re DM
244 S.W.3d 397 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
In the Interest of D.M.
244 S.W.3d 397 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
In the Matter of J.S.B.
644 S.E.2d 580 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2007)
Janice Turner Conner v. Jason Laurence Johnson
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
127 S.W.3d 50, 2003 WL 22208820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-workers-compensation-commission-v-wausau-underwriters-insurance-texapp-2003.