Anchor Casualty Co. v. Wolff
| Citation | 181 F.2d 741 |
| Decision Date | 05 May 1950 |
| Docket Number | No. 12964.,12964. |
| Parties | ANCHOR CASUALTY CO. v. WOLFF. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) |
A. D. Dyess, Houston, Tex., for appellant.
Jack K. Ayer, Houston, Tex., Levert J. Able, Houston, Tex., for appellee.
Before HOLMES, WALLER, and BORAH, Circuit Judges.
This action was brought by appellee against appellant to set aside a denial of appellee's claim by the Industrial Accident Board of Texas, and to recover under the statute for total permanent disability resulting from an injury from strain, sustained by appellee while engaged in work as an employee. He strained himself severely while attempting to jerk a large board out of a pile of lumber.
Appellee told his employer that he had hurt himself, and his employer told him that he had insurance to cover him, and advised him to see a doctor. Several claims for compensation were filed in time by appellee with the Industrial Accident Board. The first listed his heart as being the injured part of the body; another listed a hernia on his right side as being part of his injuries. The last claim stated that the injury caused a hernia to appear unexpectedly on the right side as well as damage to the arteries in the region of his heart.
On April 23, 1948, the Accident Board made a final ruling denying appellee's $10,000 claim for compensation. After filing written notice of appeal, appellee brought suit in the district court of Harris County, Texas. Appellant, a Minnesota corporation, removed the cause to the federal court, and by its amended answer denied that appellee had suffered an accidental injury in the course of his employment, and denied that he had given any actual notice of his alleged accidental injury to his employer. The cause was tried to a jury, and during the presentation of appellee's case appellant objected to the admission of evidence relating to hernia, on the ground that the Board did not pass on appellee's claim for hernia but only passed on his heart injury because in its decision it stated that appellee's condition resulted from a disease which did not result from or was not connected with his employment. The objection was overruled, and evidence relating to the hernia was admitted. Judgment for a lump sum of $8,737.35 was rendered against the appellant. The latter filed its motion for a new trial, contending that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to hear and determine appellee's claim, because the Board had never passed on the accidental injury for which judgment was sought to be recovered; that there was no support in the record for the jury's finding that the employer had actual notice of appellee's injury within thirty days of its occurrence; and that the record showed that appellee's disability was due to a pre-existing disease of the heart, not to any accident or accidental injury.
It is a well-recognized rule in cases of this nature that a court is without jurisdiction of a compensation action unless such action is based upon a claim presented to and acted upon by a Board or Commission set up to hear such claims. In the present case, several claims were presented to the Board within the time prescribed by law. The Board's ruling of April 23, 1948, does not specifically refer to any one of the claims, but merely states that the claimant failed to establish by proof that his condition was the result of an accidental injury suffered in the course of his employment; on the contrary, the Board held that his condition was the result of a...
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