American General Ins. Co. v. Bailey

Decision Date06 May 1954
Docket NumberNo. 12627,12627
Citation268 S.W.2d 528
PartiesAMERICAN GENERAL INS. CO. v. BAILEY.
CourtTexas Court of Appeals

Vinson, Elkins, Weems & Searls, B. Jeff Crane, Jr., and L. J. Clayton, Houston, for appellant.

John L. Hill and W. James Kronzer, Houston, and Hill, Brown, Kronzer & Abraham, Houston, of counsel, for appellee.

HAMBLEN, Chief Justice.

This appeal is from a judgment of the district court of Harris County in which appellee recovered under the Workmen's Compensation Statutes of Texas, Vernon's Ann.Civ.St. art. 8306 et seq., as for fifty per cent permanent partial disability because of an injury allegedly received by him on October 31, 1951. At the time of the alleged injury, appellee and another workman were at opposite ends of a movable scaffold which was suspended by cables from the roof of a building then being constructed. Appellee and his co-worker were in the process of lowering such scaffold into working position. While so engaged, and due to some failure of the mechanism by which the scaffold was suspended, the end opposite that on which appellee was situated, gave way, and appellee's co-worker fell to his death eight stories below. Appellee managed to cling to the scaffold, or the remaining cable by which it was suspended, and to jump therefrom to the building. As a result of this incident, appellee suffered a bruise on his leg, and a 'cable burn.' All of the evidence in the record requires the conclusion that such bruise and cable burn were minor in nature, were completely healed within a short time after the incident, and did not cause or contribute to any disability or incapacity on the part of appellee. Appellee bases his right to an affirmance of the judgment rendered upon the allegation, which appears to be amply supported by the evidence, that in addition to the described physical injuries, he sustained a severe fright which damaged his entire nervous system and resulted in a severe anxiety state. Appellee contends, and the proof supports his contention, that as a result of the fright occasioned by witnessing his co-worker's horrible death, and the realization of his own narrow escape from a similar fate, he is extremely nervous and apprehensive whenever he is off of the ground, and that he emotionally 'freezes' on scaffolds, beams, or other parts of building structures, and as a consequence, is unable to perform all of the duties of a qualified iron worker.

The judgment rendered in appellee's favor is attacked by appellant in twenty nine points of error. Points one to seven are based upon the proposition that the facts as above outlined fail to support the necessary finding that appellee received a personal injury, as that term is defined by the Workmen's Compensation Statutes of the State of Texas. Appellant's remaining points are directed to the insufficiency of the evidence to support the jury's finding that appellee suffered any partial incapacity or disability, and to the error of the trial court in submitting to the jury certain issues inquiring as to the percentage of disability suffered by appellee, rather than appellant's requested issues inquiring as to appellee's average weekly wage earning capacity during partial disability. This Court has carefully examined the record in this case, and the briefs and arguments of counsel together with the authorities cited in support thereof. After doing so, we feel compelled to the conclusion that appellant's points one to seven, inclusive, are well taken and must be sustained. This conclusion requires that the judgment of the trial court be reversed and rendered, and makes it unnecessary to consider appellant's remaining points of error.

The decision of the question here involved has been most difficult. The precise question has not passed upon by any appellate court in Texas. In other jurisdictions wherein the applicable statutes are sufficiently similar to those of this State to afford an analogy, the decisions are conflicting. Before discussing the reasoning upon which our conclusion is based, the factual basis should be stated. The following findings appear inescapable from the record presented, and to be in large part agreed upon by the litigants.

Appellee's condition is functional rather than organic. That is to say, any incapacity of appellee can be demonstrated or proven only by the fact that his mind or nervous system does not function normally, and cannot be demonstrated or proven by any cellular or organic condition of any organ or part of his body. The objective symptoms upon which medical diagnosis is based, are limited to those available for the diagnosis of nervous or mental functional disorders. His condition seems clearly to have been caused by the incident described. The only injuries suffered by appellee which may be described as physical from the cellular or organic standpoint, were the bruise to his leg and the cable burn on his arm, neither of which caused or in any degree contributed to his nervous or mental condition. There is no evidence that his nervous or mental condition has resulted in or caused any condition which may be described as physical from the cellular or organic standpoint. His condition is real and not simulated, and there is no proof in the record that it persists solely or even partially because of the existence of a claim under the Workmen's Compensation Statutes.

The medical witnesses who testified in the trial court variously described the appellee's condition as a 'mental disturbance,' an 'anxiety state,' and a 'nervous illness.' All of the medical testimony may be summed up by saying that appellee suffers from what is usually described as a neurosis which resulted from the fright occasioned by the collapse of the scaffold in the manner described. The legal question presented is whether such a condition is compensable under the Workmen's Compensation Law of the State of Texas.

That law provides compensation for employees who sustain disabling injuries in the course of their employment. Article 8309, Sec. 1, defines 'injury' as follows: 'The terms 'injury' or 'personal injury' shall...

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2 cases
  • Bailey v. American General Ins. Co.
    • United States
    • Texas Supreme Court
    • 11 May 1955
    ...and judgment for petitioner for 50% partial disability. That judgment has been reversed and rendered by the Court of Civil Appeals. 268 S.W.2d 528. The petitioner and another workman, while in the course of their employment, were at opposite ends of a movable scaffold which was supported by......
  • American General Ins. Co. v. Bailey
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • 2 February 1956

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