Thompson v. Employees Lloyds

292 S.W.2d 643, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1694
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 1, 1956
DocketNo. 15131
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 292 S.W.2d 643 (Thompson v. Employees Lloyds) 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
Thompson v. Employees Lloyds, 292 S.W.2d 643, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1694 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinion

CRAMER, Justice.

This is a proceeding under the Workmen’s Compensation ‘ Act by appellant Thompson, an employee' of Gifford-Hill-American, Inc.-; against appellee Employees Lloyds, as insurer. The jury by their verdict, found' 'in substance that: (1 — 2-) Thompson sustained accidental personal injuries on or about April 30, 1954; (3) but such injuries wére not sustained by Thompson while working as 'an employee of Gif-'ford-Hill-American,' Inc.; also (17) that his reasonable hospital expense as a result ofpthe injuries was $850; (18) reasonable ■nursing expense $468; and (19) reasonable doctor’s bills $1,500.

Special issues 4 to 16 on course of employment, total incapacity, partial incapacity, lump sum, and average weekly wages, were not answered by the jury because of the instruction by the Court not to answer them unless they had answered issue No. 3 with “Yes.”

Thompson, Dr. Sidnéy Gaines, and Methodist Hospital, subject to their motion for judgment, made a motion to- disregard the jury- finding to issue Tsfo. 3, and for judgment non obstante veredicto; and in the alternative, that a mistrial be declared. The motions for judgment non obstante veredicto and for mistrial were each overruled, and the taire nothing judgment here appealed from was rendered. From such judgment, after duly filed motion for new trial was overruled, Thompson has duly perfected this appeal.

Appellant Thompson briefs nine points of error. Points 1 and 2, briefed together, assert error (1) in submitting to the jury issue No. 3, “ * * * when it was undisputed that he was and erred in conditioning the answering of the jury of the further issues on an affirmative answer to Question .No. 3”;. (2) in failing to define the term “employee” as contained in question No. 3 and in failing to give appellants’ specially requested instruction No. 8 containing a proper definition of the term “employee” as follows : “By the term - ‘employee’ as used in this charge is meant that person employed by the master or employer to perform services in his affairs and whose physical conduct in the performance of the services is controlled or is subject .to right of .control by the master.”

Points 1 and 2 are countered that there was no error (1) in submitting issue No. 3, it being undisputed that the injuries were not sustained by Thompson while working as an employee of Gifford-Hill-American, Inc.; nor in rendering judgment'for insurer and refusing Thompson’s motion for mistrial; (2)' and there was no error in failing to define “employee” used in. issue 3, or in refusing to give Thompson’s requested definition of “employee.”

The record discloses that the charge did contain issue No. 4 as follows: “Do you fin'd from a preponderance of the evidence that such injuries, if any, sustained by T. D. Thompson were sustained by him in th.e course of his employment with Gifford-Hill-American, Inc.? Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’-” And also a definition of “Injury sustained in the course of employment” as follows: “ ‘Injury sustained in the course of employment’, as used in this charge, means [645]*645all' injuries of every kind and character, having to do with and originating from the work, business, trade, or profession of the employer; received by the employee while engaged in or about the furtherance of the affairs or business of his employer, whether upon the employer’s premises or elsewhere.”

Appellant objected to the definition of “Injury sustained in the course of his employment” for the reason that there is no issue in this case raising the question as to whether or not the plaintiff sustained an injury in the course of his employment,1 and consequently no necessity to charge the jury thereon. As a matter of law. the plaintiff was within the course of his employment at the time he sustained his injury; further objected to the definition that it “is incomplete and does not fully instruct the jury as to the law in this particular situation in that the plaintiff would be entitled to recover under the Workmen’s Compensation Act when he sustains an injury resulting from a risk or hazard which is necessarily or ordinarily or reasonably inherent in, or incidental to, the conduct of •his work or busifiess employed in, arid in •every case where an injury occurs at a place furnished by the employer in the interest of his business as a necessary and immediate means of access to 'where the employee is required to 'labor, and from a danger caused by the • permanent condition of said place, and at a time when the employee is expected or required to enter the plant or premises of the r employer”; further for the reason that it fails to instruct the jury that the plaintiff would be entitled to compensation in the event the foregoing facts were true, and does herewith tender a correct definition of the term “injuries sustained in the course of employment” in a separate request, and further that “it is too restricted and not broad enough and would tend to confuse- and mislead the jury”; and “it does not instruct the jury those injuries sustained by an employee are held to occur in the course of employment where the employee at the time of the injury is using the means of ingress or egress from the premises of the employer, and the same have been provided by the employer for that purpose.” And further, “the court fails to instruct the jury that an injury is held to occur in the course of employment where the employee at the tirrie of the injury is using the usual and customary methods of entrance to and retirement from the employer’s premises or zone of employment.” Also objected to the submission of issue 3, “for the reason that the. undisputed testimony in this case establishes that on the occasion in question, April 30, 1954, T. D. Thompson, plaintiff herein, was an employee of Gifford-Hill-American, Inc.i' and that there ⅛ rid rieces’-sity for the subfnission of said special 'issue, and the jury is required to1 answer said issue in "the affirmative before they arfe entitled to pass upon the subsequent issues inquiring into the disabilities sustained by the plaintiff herein. This plaintiff objects and excepts further to the submission, of said Special Issue No. 3 for the reason that by a preponderance of the evidence it has been established that on the occasion in question the plaintiff, T. D. Thompson, was an employee, and that there is no necessity for the submission of said issues, ,ánd an. affirmátive answer to said issué ihust be made by the jury before they are entitled to .pass upon the following special issue's inquiring into the plaintiff’s disability.” '

■ Viewing the record as’ of the time "the charge was prepared and objections thereto were made, it was undisputed that Thompson was an employee of- Gifford-Hill-Amer-ican, Inc. 1

Under issue 3 as submitted, the jury was asked, based on the undisputed and assumed fact that Thompson was an. employee,. whether or not at the time he sustained his injury, he was working as an employee of Gifford-Hill-American, Inc. If such issue was a proper submission of course of employment, there was no error in the- submission of the next issue, No. 4, on course of employment and the definí[646]*646tion; in other words, the charge was subject to the objection that course of employment was submitted twice; first under the issue which has not been approved, followed by an instruction that they would not answer the next issue which properly submitted an issue on course of employment followed by a proper definition of-“course of employment.”

' Such submission, in our opinion, was of such'a nature as that it whs nlisleading to the jury and prejudicial.

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Bluebook (online)
292 S.W.2d 643, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1694, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-employees-lloyds-texapp-1956.