United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Brandon

31 S.W.2d 846
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 8, 1930
DocketNo. 3429.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 31 S.W.2d 846 (United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Brandon) 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
United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Brandon, 31 S.W.2d 846 (Tex. Ct. App. 1930).

Opinion

RANDOLPH, J.

This suit was brought by appellee as plaintiff against the appellant as defendant by way of appeal from a final ruling and award of the Industrial Accident Board of the state of Texas, rendered on the 24th day of July, 1&29, in favor of Dave Brandon and against the United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company for compensation based upon alleged injuries resulting to him by his falling and striking his right knee on a bar of iron, which injuries are alleged to have been sustained on the 15th of January, 1929, while in the employ of the United Carbon Black Company in Hutchinson county, Tex., under the Workmen’s Compensation Act of this state (Rev. St. 1925, arts. 8306-8309); and the said plain-' tiff, in his petition, alleged the details of the injury to his knee on the theory that he had sustained total and permanent loss of his right leg for the compensation period of 200 weeks, and also alleged the matters and things quoted hereinafter.

The defendant answered by general demurrer and general denial and also by special pleas which have become immaterial to the consideration of this appeal.

In answer to appellant’s statement of the nature and result of the case in its brief, ap-pellee claims that the plaintiff’s petition alleges facts which would entitle him to compensation for total permanent disability.

The case was submitted to a jury upon the following special issues and definitions or explanations:

“Special Issue No. 1.
“Did the plaintiff Dave Brandon sustain an injury to his right leg at or about the right knee on the 15th day of January, 1929? You will answer this question ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“In answering the foregoing question, you will be governed by the following definition:
“The term ‘injury’ or ‘personal injury’ shall be construed to mean damage or harm to the physical structure of the body and such diseases or infections as naturally result therefrom.
“Special Issue No. 2.
“Did the injury, if any sustained by the plaintiff, Brandon, result in total incapacity to use of his right leg in the performance of labor at or about the right knee? You will answer this question ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“In answering the foregoing question, you will be governed by the following definition:
“The phrase ‘total incapacity’ as used in the foregoing special issue shall be construed to mean that a person disqualified from performing the usual tasks of a workman with such specific member in.sueh way as that he is unable to procure and retain employment at ordinary work with such member, is totally incapacitated with respect to such member.
“Special Issue No. 3.
“Will the injury, if any Dave Brandon sustained to his right leg at or about the right knee, be permanent ? Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“Special Issue No. 4.
“Will the total incapacity, if any, to use his right leg in the performance of labor, at or about the right knee, be permanent? You will answer this question ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“Special Issue No. 5.
“If you have answered special issue No. 2, ‘yes,’ that is, have said thereby that the injury sustained by the plaintiff Brandon resulted in total incapacity to his right leg at or about the right knee, and if you have answered special interrogatory No. 3 ‘no,’ that is, have said thereby that the injury, if any Dave Brandon sustained to his right leg at or about the right knee, will not be permanent, then, and only in that event, you will answer this further question:
“Fix the number of weeks, if any, of total incapacity to the right leg at or about the right knee? Answer in terms of weeks.
“Special Issue No. 6.
“If you have answéred special interrogatory No. 4 ‘no,’ that is, have said thereby that the total incapacity to the right leg at or about the right knee will not be permanent, then, and only in that event, you will answer this further question:
“Has Dave Brandon sustained a partial incapacity to his right leg at or about the right knee? Answer this question ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“In answering the foregoing question, you will be governed with the following definition:
“The phrase ‘partial incapacity’ as used in the foregoing special issue shall be construed to mean that one who has been injured in a specific member is able to use and perform only a part of his regular labor with the member, or that he is able to perform labor of a less remunerative class only; that is to say, it means that such and one’s earning capacity with respect to the use of such specific member has been reduced partially.
“Special Issue No. 7.
“If you have answered special issue No. 6 ‘yes,’ that is, have said thereby that Dave Brandon has sustained a partial incapacity to his right leg at or about the right knee, then, fix the number of weeks of such partial in *848 capacity witli respect to tlie member answering in terms of weeks and fix tbe percentage of the partial incapacity, if any to the right leg at or about the knee, answering in percentage using one hundred per cent, as a basis for total incapacity.
“Special Issue.-No. 8.
“If you have found that Dave Brandon is suffering from an injury as defined in special issue No. 1, then answer this question:
“Does the incapacity, if any, to use the right leg at or about the right knee in labor result directly from the injury sustained by the said Brandon on the 15th day of January, 1929? Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“Special Issue No. 9.
“Does such incapacity, if any, to use the right leg at or about the right knee in performing labor result from infection or disease not caused by or resulting from the accident and injury, if any so sustained by the said Brandon? Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“Special Issue No. 10.
“Wliat do you find was the average weekly wages of Dave Brandon at the time of his injury, if any? Answer this question giving the number of dollars per week.
“In answering this question, you will be governed by the following rule of law:
“Average weekly wages shall mean if the injured employee shall have worked in the employment in which he was working at the time of the injury, whether for the same employer or not, substantially the whole of the year immediately preceding the injury, his average annual wages shall consist of three hundred times the average daily wage or salary which he shall have earned in such employment during the days when so employed.
“The average weekly wages of an employee shall be one-fifty-second part of the average annual wages.”

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

Related

Jordan v. New Amsterdam Casualty Co.
378 S.W.2d 890 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1964)
Stevenson v. Wilson
206 S.W.2d 613 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1947)
Mathews v. New Mexico Light & Power Co.
122 P.2d 410 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1942)
Traders & General Ins. Co. v. Maxwell
142 S.W.2d 685 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1940)
Fireman's Fund Indemnity Co. v. Hopkins
119 S.W.2d 394 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1938)
Joplin v. South Texas Coaches, Inc.
119 S.W.2d 1060 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1938)
Krnetich v. Oliver Iron Mining Co.
277 N.W. 525 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1938)
Russell v. Great American Indemnity Co.
94 S.W.2d 409 (Texas Supreme Court, 1936)
Union Indemnity Co. v. Drake
42 S.W.2d 839 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
31 S.W.2d 846, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-fidelity-guaranty-co-v-brandon-texapp-1930.